Reunion
by Yagami 85
Summary: With the successful completion of the Revolution in the USNA, Tatsuya returns to Japan. However, by doing so, he reunites with Miyuki and the stage is set for a messy confrontation between Tatsuya and the old powers of Japan. Tatsuya x Harem, Tatsuya x Mibu Sayaka
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Checkmate on the Saegusa

Disclaimer: I do not own Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei or any of its vibrant characters.

* * *

Year 2095, January 5th, Saegusa mansion, Tokyo, Japan, 2 a.m.

(Mayumi's POV)

"Run!" I screamed.

In response to my scream, the remaining survivors from the Tanabata and Nanase families, two of the 18 assistant houses, ran through the hallways of the Saegusa mansion. They ran with such great speed, it was almost like their very lives depended on it.

Yet, the unfortunate truth of the matter was that their lives did depend on how successful they were in running away from the 'angel' that was after us.

"Gah! Hurry up and run!"

"Run for your lives!"

"Ah!"

Their many screams of panic resounded throughout the mansion as they fled for their lives.

Yet, suddenly-

"Hurry up and ru-"

"Kyaa-"

"Hu-ahhhhh-"

All of their screams were cut short as their bodies faded into nothingness.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

As the sounds of approaching footsteps resounded in my ears, I clutched the top of my shirt in panic, my body pressed against the wall.

"How unusual…for you to defend those criminals…Saegusa Mayumi."

The 'angel' spoke

with a cold tone.

Yet,

it was slightly intrigued (?).

Taking a deep breath, I suppressed the fear that I felt as I straightened my back and faced him.

"Even if they had committed a crime, that does not justify your acts of murder!" I said with a sharp tone.

"Hmm…Tanabata and Nanase…those two houses were part of the 18 assistant houses. Tell me, Saegusa Mayumi, did you try to save them because you believed that they did not deserve to be murdered? Or did you do it so that you could protect what remained of the ruling class within Japan's magic community?" The 'angel' asked with a cold voice.

In response to his questions, I sent him a cold glare as I tightened my hands into fists.

'Come on, Mayumi! This isn't the time to falter! You are a member of the Ten Master Clans. As such, you must showcase the dignity befitting that of a member of the Ten Master Clans!'

I thought to myself.

"Even if they deserved death for their crimes, they should be tried in a court of law! Not murdered by the likes of you!" I shot back with a defiant voice.

"Oh? But won't they simply just bribe the judges to rule in their favour? The courts of Japan are very amenable to such 'rewards'." He stated with an impassive tone.

"…Even if that is so, did you really need to murder them?!" I yelled.

"Though both the Nanase and Tanabata houses are part of the 18 assistant houses system, they were heavily involved in the social pension and public healthcare systems in Japan, with many of their house members taking up key positions in both systems. For many years, both houses were involved in the embezzlement of funds for the social pension and public healthcare systems in Japan. As a result of their actions, many poor families had to live in harsh conditions despite having paid their dues to the pension system during their working years. Furthermore, with the funds embezzled from and thus a lack of sufficient funding of the public healthcare system, this has led to poor healthcare infrastructure and under-trained healthcare staff. Can you even imagine how many citizens had suffered or died due to the resulting inadequacies in the public healthcare system?" The 'angel' retorted.

"That still does not justify your acts of murder!" I shouted back.

"Then…what other recourse are there? How would you have dealt with the situation, Saegusa Mayumi?" He asked with a questioning tone.

"…"

In response to his query, I remained silent.

After all, despite all my objections to his actions, I could not come up with an adequate alternative.

If we simply left the case to a court of law, the members of the Nanase and Tanabata houses would simply bribe the judges to rule in their favor.

They could also bribe the police to get rid of the evidence and then exert pressure on the media to stop covering their case.

It was a sad fact that in modern day Japan, 'justice' was more easily achieved via the acts of vigilantes than by the rule of law.

"Besides, are you really in a position to criticize me? After all, you participated in the elimination of the Shippou house one year ago." The 'angel' stated with a sharp tone.

At this (true) accusation, I could only tighten my fists in agitation and slight guilt.

After the Okinawa incident three years ago, the Ten Master Clans and the 18 Assistant Houses devolved into a state of fighting.

With the defeat of the 'Demon Lord of the Far East' at the hands of the 'Angel of Non-existence', the prestige of the Yotsuba Clan had plummeted.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the other members of the Ten Master Clans attacked the Yotsuba Clan as well as the branch families that were affiliated with the Yotsuba.

To the surprise of the attackers, the Yotsuba and its allies proved to be extremely resilient.

The moment the attackers had attacked the Yotsuba and its allies, they were immediately ambushed and slaughtered.

It wasn't so much of a slaughter as it was a massacre.

Shortly afterwards, the Yotsuba and its allies counter-attacked.

In the course of one year, the Yotsuba and its allies had successfully regained the initiative and they inflicted heavy casualties on their enemies.

Though the other nine houses of the Ten Master Clans had survived the onslaught, the 18 Assistant Houses were reduced to 16 member houses.

By 2094, the anti-Yotsuba coalition members started blaming one another for the significant losses that they had suffered and the coalition broke up.

The Houses started fighting amongst each other and makeshift alliances started to be formed.

During that period, the Shippou House, one of the 18 Assistant Houses, led an alliance consisting of four other Assistant Houses and attacked the Saegusa House.

The Saegusa House, which was then and still is allied with the Kudou and Juumonji Houses of the Ten Master Clans, fought a short but bitter conflict against their former 'allies'.

The new coalition of five Assistant Houses was completely annihilated.

I had participated in that conflict, despite my young age at the time, and I was responsible for a large number of deaths of the members of the Shippou family.

By the end of 2094, two more Assistant Houses fell at the hands of the Yotsuba while another two Assistant Houses fell to the infighting among the top magic families.

At the start of the year, 2095, the 'Angel of Non-existence' and the 'Angel of Light', Shiba Tatsuya, returned to Japan and assaulted the Nanase and Tanabata Houses.

Most of the two Houses were destroyed and the survivors fled to the relatively friendly Saegusa House.

However, their actions ultimately proved to be futile.

Shiba Tatsuya simply barged into the Saegusa mansion and annihilated the survivors.

Now, due to the elimination of the Nanase and Tanabata Houses at the hands of the 'angel', the total number of Assistant Houses fell from seven to five.

"Then…are you going to eliminate me as well? Just as you have done to so many others?" I asked with a quiet voice.

"…No, I won't. The remnants of the Saegusa family have done nothing wrong so far so I don't see any reason to eliminate you…for now." The 'angel' replied after having taken a moment to consider his decision.

At his rather favorable reply, I unknowingly let out a sigh of relief.

"Then…what will you do now?" I queried.

For a moment, the 'angel' had an unreadable expression on his face before a thoughtful smirk came upon his face.

"Hmm…for now, I think I will meet what is left of your family, Saegusa Mayumi." He said with a cold voice.

!

A sudden chill went up my spine as my feelings of dread became so intense that I felt like I was going to puke.

I wanted to refuse.

I really wanted to refuse.

However,

right now,

did I even have any other option?

…

…

Yes.

I had another option.

I could refuse

and be killed on the spot.

It was at least better than exposing this monster to the rest of my family.

"Ah…"

A sudden voice cut me off from my thinking.

"I see."

What?

What did he see?

"So they are in the master bedroom…"

At the accurate pinpointing of my family's location, I froze.

Then, my legs started to tremble.

Yet,

"Ha ha ha…"

the 'angel' suddenly laughed.

"Huh?"

I let out.

Why?

Why was he laughing?

What could he possibly have found to be funny in this situation?

"Your father certainly has a lot of pride. And a lot of dignity." The 'angel' said.

"What do you mean?" I questioned, my voice shaking slightly.

"He knew that if I really intended to kill him and what remained of his family, they would never be able to escape. As such, at the very least, he wanted to die alongside his family in the master bedroom of the Saegusa mansion, the symbol of the authority of the lord of the Saegusa Clan, one of the Ten Master Clans in Japan. He wanted himself and his family to die as proud members of the Saegusa Clan." The 'angel' answered with a slightly impressed (?) tone.

"The way you are saying it…it's almost as if you don't intend to kill off my family." I stated.

A slightly unpleasant expression graced the 'angel's face for a moment before his face regained its impassive look.

"If I really wanted to kill off your family, do you really think that you would still be alive now?" He inquired.

At this rhetorical question, I only frowned slightly.

"Then, what are you going to do once you meet them?" I queried with a slightly demanding tone, despite knowing that I was not in any position to be making demands.

"I only intend to have a conversation with your father, Saegusa Koichi. That's all there is to it." He replied.

"…"

"Even so, I cannot let you meet my family!" I said as I activated my CAD.

Psion light radiated from all over my body as gaseous carbon dioxide molecules quickly condensed to form solid dry ice pellets.

Yet, it was all for naught as a large amount of psions flooded the hallways, causing my magic sequence to be instantly blown apart.

As the solid dry ice pellets fell onto the ground, the 'angel' swung a metal blade towards me.

Closing my eyes, I prepared myself for what was to come…only to be surprised when I felt no pain.

Instead, I felt the cold sensation of a metal blade being pressed against my neck.

"Saegusa Mayumi, I do not take threats to my person lightly. The next time you try to attack me, I will not hesitate to end your life." He warned with a serious tone.

"…If you still insist on meeting my family, then you are going to have to take my life here." I responded with a calm tone.

"…"

"Tempting…but no. Besides, you are one of the more decent members of the Ten Master Clans. To kill you here would be a…waste." He replied.

A waste?

Killing me here would be a waste?

Then…

Does that mean Shiba Tatsuya never intended to completely eliminate the current ruling class of Japan's magic community?

This was useful information.

After all, if he didn't intend to completely wipe out the current ruling class of the magic community, that meant that he could be negotiated with.

The current ruling class still had a chance of survival.

However…

the question was

how was I to use this piece of information to my advantage?

Regardless…

I had to first get both me and my family out of here alive.

"Let us go, Saegusa Mayumi." The 'angel' said with a commanding voice.

Unable to resist, I had no choice but to walk in front of him.

"Let us go and see your family."

* * *

Year 2095, January 5th, Master Bedroom of the Saegusa mansion, Tokyo, Japan, 2:30 a.m.

The moment we reached the door of the master bedroom, the 'angel' pointed his right hand at the door and the door faded into nothingness.

Facing us were my younger twin sisters, Saegusa Izumi and Saegusa Kasumi, as well as my father, Saegusa Koichi.

My father was sitting comfortably on his armchair with a relaxed expression on his face.

In contrast, my twin sisters were sitting on either side of him, both of them with tight expressions on their faces.

The more rowdy of my younger twin sisters, Saegusa Kasumi, was unusually nervous and her hands had tightened into fists.

The more patient of my younger twin sisters, Saegusa Izumi, had a look of fear on her face as small tears started forming at her eyes.

"Let's have a talk, Saegusa Koichi." The 'angel' said as he strode into the room with a relaxed manner.

"You do not intend to kill me?" My father asked with a slightly intrigued tone.

"No, I do not. I only came here to talk…well…and to eliminate what remained of the Nanase and Tanabata Houses." The 'angel' stated with an impassive tone.

At his casual remark of his elimination of two member Houses of the 18 Assistant Houses, my twin sisters froze as tears started to stream down Izumi's face.

"I see. Very well…what do you want to talk about, Shiba Tatsuya?" My father queried.

"Terms of surrender." The 'angel' replied with a direct tone.

At this rather impertinent reply, my father's eyes sharpened as he glared at the 'angel'.

"You expect the Saegusa House, one of the Ten Master Clans, to surrender to you, Shiba Tatsuya. Even if you are one of the strongest 'Strategic-Class Magicians' in the world, there should be a limit to your arrogance!" My father hissed out with a hostile tone.

"The current ruling class of Japan has been declining for a long time. Considering your power and influence, you should already know of the Revolution that is currently going on in Japan. Much of the current ruling class has been tainted with corruption and incompetence…and many of these undesirable elements have already been exposed, arrested or wiped out by my allies. In the course of a few years, the current ruling class in Japan will have lost all of its power and would thus become irrelevant. However, the Saegusa House is different. So far, the main members of the Saegusa House have remained free of corruption and incompetence. My allies would greatly welcome the Saegusa House into our ranks." The 'angel' stated.

"You dare suggest such a thing when it was your actions that led to the Saegusa House's loss of Tokyo?" My father hollered.

At the reminder of that loss, I winced.

The capital city of Japan, Tokyo, had traditionally been under the control of the Saegusa House.

It was a symbol of pride, power, prestige and influence for the Saegusa House.

The loss of Tokyo to the members of the Revolution had been humiliating for the Saegusa, resulting in a loss of prestige and influence for the Saegusa House.

"If your branch families and allies had not involved themselves with money laundering and other criminal activity, the Saegusa House would not have lost Tokyo." The 'angel' retorted back with a calm tone.

That (accurate) retort took the fight out of my father but he quickly recovered himself.

"The other cities were in a similar state." My father argued back.

"That does not justify your actions of allowing Tokyo to degenerate into a city of corruption and crime. While I will admit that the Saegusa House had done a good job of handling Tokyo City, the Saegusa House was still responsible for letting corruption and crime go unchecked. Not many cities could match the level of development and wealth that the Saegusa House brought to Tokyo City and its residents. Yet, not many cities could match Tokyo City in terms of the sheer level of money laundering and other criminal activities within it." The 'angel' stated as he made his counter-argument.

"If that is the case, then why do you still want the Saegusa House to join your cause?!" My father demanded.

"Because…for the good of Tokyo City…and for the good of the nation, the Saegusa House is still needed." The 'angel' stated with a calm tone.

"…"

"…"

"…"

Shortly after the angel made his reply, a tense silence enveloped the entire room.

Finally, father broke the silence.

"…Very well…let's negotiate."

* * *

Year 2095, January 5th, Master Bedroom of the Saegusa mansion, Tokyo, Japan, 5 a.m.

"Father…both Izumi and Kasumi are already asleep in their own rooms. What is it that you wanted to speak to me about?" I inquired with a questioning tone.

However, the only response that I received back was a question of his own.

"Mayumi…you are the current Student Council President of First High School, right?" He asked.

"Yes…father. I'm the current Student Council President. May I ask what that has to do with what you want to talk to me about?" I enquired with an uneasy expression on my face.

"…Shiba Tatsuya is going to become the next head of the board of education. He was apparently brought in to revamp the current education system." My father stated.

"…So I will have to deal with him more frequently…right, father?" I questioned rhetorically.

"Yes…as the current Student Council President of First High, this is not something that you can escape from. Furthermore, now that we have surrendered to Shiba Tatsuya, we are going to be under his control from now on. So…further interaction with him is…unavoidable." Father said with his back turned away from me.

"…It can't be something so simple, father. What are you planning?" I questioned.

"…As expected of you, Mayumi…You really know me well…" He said with a sigh.

"Of course I do. How long do you think I have been your daughter for?" I retorted back.

"…Right now, Shiba Tatsuya holds a lot of financial power and political influence around the world, especially in Japan and the USNA. The current ruling class of Japan is in decline and we have already surrendered to Shiba Tatsuya…As such, it would be best if we allied ourselves with Shiba Tatsuya…" He stated with a resigned tone.

"…How unexpected. I thought that father would have liked to rebuild the Ten Master Clans and the 18 Assistant Houses system, except that this time it would be under the strong influence of the Saegusa." I remarked with a surprised tone.

"…As things are now, such a plan is not likely to work. The 18 Assistant Houses have already been reduced to five. By the end of this year, the 18 Assistant Houses will be no more. A few of the Ten Master Clans are also on the verge of being wiped out along with their branch families. To rebuild such a system would be almost impossible." He said with a tired voice.

"But to pledge our allegiance to Shiba Tatsuya…the person who took away Tokyo from the Saegusa…" I said with an uncertain voice.

"…Shiba Tatsuya is letting us, the Saegusa family, the former 'rulers' of Tokyo, to regain some position of influence from within Tokyo. Usually, to solidify the revolutionaries' control over Tokyo city, he should be eliminating us instead, not giving us a position of influence." Father pointed out.

"…"

Now that I thought about it, why would Shiba Tatsuya do such a thing?

It would have been more advantageous for him to have us eliminated in the first place.

Besides, if he really needed someone to help the revolutionaries manage Tokyo City, he could have selected others from among thousands of political and government experts living in the city, though admittedly none of them would have been as good as the Saegusa family.

However, those experts would still have made a good replacement and given time, they might have been able to perform as well or even better than the Saegusa.

Yet…he was offering the chance for the Saegusa family to be 'politically rehabilated'.

Carrying out such actions made no sense.

Unless…

"In other words, he is saying that if we do a good enough job, he would allow the Saegusa family to regain its former glory and power. And of course, one of the prerequisites for a 'good job' to be done would be if the Saegusa House swore loyalty to him." My father concluded.

"…"

Smart.

Cunning.

Vicious

and talented.

Everything he did was perfectly calculated.

Right now, the current ruling class was in decline.

Furthermore, even if the Ten Master Clans and the 18 Assistant Houses were at full strength, he could probably crush them all with his 'Light of Destruction' or his ''Destruction' massive à l'échelle'. As such, he was currently the top leading power in Japan.

He also knew that the Saegusa House would be desperate to ensure its own survival and to regain its former glory. Using that knowledge, he made himself the only viable option for the Saegusa House to achieve its goal.

Consequently, the Saegusa House would have no choice but to bend to his will.

"…What do you want me to do, father?" I asked.

"Get close to him. Show him your worth as well as that of the Saegusa House. That boy is highly practical and highly calculative…if you prove the Saegusa House's worth and loyalty to him, he will definitely offer the Saegusa a good position in the future ruling establishment." He replied with a calm yet calculative voice.

"I understand, father."

* * *

Year 2095, January 6th, Yotsuba family residence, Japan, 5 a.m.

(Maya's POV)

Bzzt.

My handphone buzzed as it started vibrating.

"Hayama-san." I called out.

"Understood, madam." He replied as my loyal butler made his way to the table and picked up my handphone.

"Here you go, madam." Hayama-san said as he passed the mobile phone to me with both of his hands.

Having taken hold of the mobile phone, I briefly looked at the caller ID before a smirk made its way across my face.

"Oh? This is a surprise." I stated, earning a slightly perplexed look from Hayama-san.

Rarely can anything surprise me nowadays, ever since Tatsuya left the Yotsuba and started his own mayhem.

Picking up the call, I called out to the speaker on the other side of the phone.

"Mitsugu-san, this is a surprise. Usually, you would follow protocol and call the Yotsuba main residence instead of calling my personal handphone." I said with an amused tone.

"My my. I'm really sorry, my beloved cousin. However, there are some things that I have to report. They are important enough to warrant me to break protocol." Mitsugu-san said with a playful tone which turned serious near the end of his statements.

"Oh? Do tell." I said with an intrigued tone.

"Firstly, together with some reinforcements from the other combatants of the Yotsuba family, the Kuroba agents have managed to wipe out the targeted Assistant House." He reported.

"Oh? That's rather delightful." I said with a wicked voice.

"We have also received news that the Kudou and Juumonji Houses had also briefly teamed up with the Ichijou House to finish off another Assistant House." He continued.

"…While that is delightful news, I don't see how that warrants breaking protocol, Mitsugu-san." I pointed out.

Having heard the implicit warning in my tone, he quickly moved on to his third and final piece of news.

"Two other Assistant Houses, the Nanase and Tanabata Houses, have also been wiped out." He said with a serious voice.

I paused in my movements as this particular piece of news caught my attention.

"Elaborate." I ordered.

"Apparently, the bulk of their weapons, equipment and personnel suddenly disappeared and the survivors ran to the Saegusa House for refuge." He stated.

"…Disappeared, you say?" I questioned.

"Yes, Maya-san. The bulk of them just disappeared along with their weapons and equipment." He replied.

"…And?" I stated in an attempt to hint to him to continue his explanation of the bizarre incident.

"Shortly after the survivors reached the Saegusa Mansion in Tokyo, the Saegusa sent out all their personnel and left only the Saegusa family members and the survivors within the mansion. Based on what our investigation has turned up so far, all of the survivors disappeared shortly after. However, the Saegusa family members are still alive and well." He elaborated.

"…"

"Should we investigate any further, Maya-san?" He questioned.

"…No need. I have already figured out what happened. Continue with your mission, Mitsugu-san. Now that the Nanase and Tanabata Houses have been eliminated, along with that other Assistant House which the other member Houses of the Ten Master Clans destroyed, there should only be three Assistant Houses left. Wipe them out. I will join you shortly." I ordered.

"Understood, Maya-sama. Then, have a good day." Mitsugu-san said before he cut off the line.

"…"

"Madam?" Hayama-san questioned.

"Ha ha ha…"

I let out a light chuckle.

"So, Tatsuya is already making his own moves, huh? I can't wait to see what he does next."

* * *

Year 2095, January 6th, Shiba family residence, Japan, 8 p.m.

(Miyuki's POV)

"…I see. I understand, Maya Obaa-san. Then, goodbye and have a good night." I said as I hung up the phone.

"Is something wrong, Miyuki?" Onii-sama asked.

"U-Um…nothing. Nothing is wrong, Onii-sama." I replied with a stammering tone.

An incorrect and untruthful answer.

After all, how could nothing be wrong at this juncture?

In the span of three days, four more Assistant Houses had fallen. Now, only three Assistant Houses remained…for now.

Soon, all the Assistant Houses will disappear and the Ten Master Clans will intensify their internal rivalry.

What was worse was that my older brother was the culprit responsible for the elimination of two of the Assistant Houses.

Onii-sama…

Just what is it that you are planning?  
"Come now, Miyuki. Your dinner is getting cold. We mustn't waste Honoka-chan's efforts." He chided gently.

"U-Um, Tatsuya-kun…I really don't mind. Perhaps Miyuki-san simply does not have the appetite right now?" Honoka-san stammered out.

"No, no. Onii-sama is right. Honoka-san, you have put in so much effort to prepare dinner for us tonight. I can't possibly let your efforts be wasted." I said as I resumed my eating.

Tonight's dinner was quite good.

Two plates of fish fried with olive oil, two plates of California Maki and some curry rice.

Honoka-san's cooking skills were quite good…though it wasn't as good as Onii-sama's.

Still, this was an incredibly awkward situation that I was currently in.

Right now, I was having dinner with my older brother, whom I have been separated from for about three years. I was sitting on a chair opposite to him while Honoka-san and Shizuku-san sat on both sides of him. Sitting next to me was the 'Strategic-Class Magician', Angelina Kudou Shields.

The question was…why were the three of them here?

And why were they sitting so close to my Onii-sama?

I cleared my throat with a soft sound as I proceeded to ask them a question.

"So…um…what is the nature of you girls' relation with my Onii-sama?" I asked with a forced tone.

"Ah…" Shizuku-san said.

"U-Um…" Honoka-san let out.

"Gah!" Lina-san coughed out.

"U-Um…to put it bluntly…um…Shizuku-san is Tatsuya's fiancée." Lina-san explained.

W-What?!

My hand that was supporting my body weight on the table slipped as the upper part of my body fell forward.

O-Onii-sama got himself a fiancée.

A sudden feeling of jealousy rose up from within me as I briefly felt uncontrollable rage and…sadness.

"Lina is Taurus Silver's fiancée." Shizuku-san stated.

H-Huh?

Lina-san is Taurus Silver's fiancée.

B-But…

Onii-sama and Taurus Silver are the exact same person!

"A-Ah…about that…you see…though both the USNA and Japan recognize dual citizenship, they don't recognize marriages made by their own citizens on the other country's soil so technically it's legal…" Lina-san elaborated/defended.

E-Even if that is the case, isn't that simply playing with the hearts of two girls?!

Regardless of whether that is legal or not, shouldn't such a thing be morally unacceptable?!

I-If that is the case, I'm afraid to find out what Honoka-san's relationship with my Onii-sama is. However, it was too late as Honoka-san said:

"A-Ah…I'm Tatsuya-kun's l-l-l-lover! Though I won't be marrying him."

At that confession, my mind simply switched off as I let my hands fall to my sides.

"T-To think...that just a few years away from home would turn Onii-sama into a person who would toy with the hearts of innocent maidens!" I said.

"Wait, Miyuki. To go so far as saying that I toy with the hearts of innocent maidens is a bit-" Onii-sama started but I did not let him continue.

"An Onii-sama like this…an Onii-sama like this! Should just freeze to death!" I yelled out.

Immediately after I said that, a powerful wave of freezing magic burst forth from my body and covered the entire residence with ice.

"Dear god!" Lina-san cried out as each of the three girls quickly erected a decelerating magic 'shield' to protect themselves against my magic.

For his part, Onii-sama merely let the freezing magic 'hit' his body before the magic faded into nothingness.

Most likely, Onii-sama decomposed the information structure of the event of the wave of freezing magic touching and thus affecting his body.

As such, he stood his ground against the onslaught of my powerful magic, completely unharmed.

"Sigh…you are still so quick to anger, Miyuki." Onii-sama said with a resigned tone even as he proceeded to decompose the information structure of the ice covering his residence.

As the ice faded into nothingness, I only stood there with my hands clenched into fists.

Why?!  
Why did Onii-sama get himself not one, but two fiancées?!

Those girls didn't deserve to have Onii-sama's love!

Those girls didn't deserve to have Onii-sama's care!

Those girls didn't deserve to have Onii-sama's attention!

Onii-sama is mine!

The only one who deserves all of Onii-sama's love, care and attention is me!

That's right!  
Onii-sama is…mine.

…

…

What?

…

…..

Onii-sama is…mine?

How could I say such a thing…

when I was the one who drove him away three years ago?

Yet..

Even so..

I couldn't help this feeling.

This strong, uncontrollable feeling of desire…

That Onii-sama is

Forever

MINE.

* * *

Year 2095, January 6th, Shiba family residence, Japan, 10 p.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

"Tatsuya, are you alright?" Lina asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." I replied.

"Miyuki-san…she didn't really take that well, did she?" Lina stated.

Well, that was an understatement.

Miyuki froze my entire residence in ice.

It was a good thing I possessed decomposition magic or else it would have been very difficult to get rid of all the ice.

Still, Miyuki was upset.

Miyuki was angry.

Miyuki was jealous.

I know that I shouldn't feel this way but the fact that she had those feelings made me a feel a little happy.

It meant that she still loved me.

Regardless…

"Lina, how is your First High teacher application going?" I queried with a curious tone.

"I got approved and I will start working on the day the new school year starts." She replied quickly.

"I see. I will have to count on you to take care of both Honoka-chan and Shizuku-san." I stated.

In response to my worry, Lina simply gave me an exasperated smile.

"Oh don't worry so much, sensei. They will be just fine. I will keep a close eye on them and keep them out of trouble." She said with an exasperated tone.

"…"

"I know that, Lina. It's just that because of their particular backgrounds…I worry that they might have trouble fitting in. Furthermore, right now, because of the way I educated them, their education and magic capabilities are considerably more developed than those of their future peers in First High." I said with a slightly worried expression on my face.

"Geez…you worrywart." Lina sighed.

Afterwards, she merely wrapped her arms around my neck before she brought her face close to mine.

Our lips met.

"You have been more affectionate lately." I commented with a slight smirk.

Blushing furiously, Lina tried to stutter out a reply.

"S-Shut up, Tatsuya! I haven't been more affectionate lately!" She protested as she lightly hit me on the back of my head.

Wincing slightly, I gave her a good-natured smile as I wrapped my arms around her waist.

As my forehead touched hers, I spoke to her again.

"Well then, in response to your strong affection for me, let me, in turn, show you my strong affection for you."

For the rest of the night, Lina was pinned against the bed as I ravaged her over and over again.

* * *

Ah! It's good to be back! Sorry for the late update! I have been trying to come up with the new story!

Well then, please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Incoming Clash

Disclaimer: I do not own Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei or any of its vibrant characters.

* * *

Year 2095, January 10th, Hokkaido, Japan, 2 a.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

The Hokkaido region.

A region that is famous for its food, culture and unique products.

Similar to other regions in Japan, the magic community here was controlled by an Assistant House and a member House of the Ten Master Clan.

Historically, both Houses shared power and influence over the region.

They had coexisted in a relatively peaceful way and they had mutually depended on each other to maintain peace, stability and thus prosperity in the region.

However, given the recent in-fighting between the Ten Master Clans and 18 Assistant Houses, relations between the two Houses had quickly soured.

As such, should one of them be attacked, the other was unlikely to interfere.

Not that the other party had sufficient power to interfere.

The Assistant House ruling over this region had bases in all the cities and towns in the region.

A total of 60 bases or hideouts, with the main base being a countryside mansion in the region.

Sigh…

Why do all the 'nobles' in this country love mansions so much?

Regardless, this fact was irrelevant to my current mission.

Using my 'sight', I read and analysed the information structures of all 'objects' and events in the region.

As such, I temporarily knew and understood everything that was occurring in this region.

Hence why I could pinpoint the exact locations of the enemy bases and hideouts.

60 bases.

Main enemy 'headquarters' being a countryside mansion that is coordinating all of the enemy forces.

Five large bases acting as regional 'headquarters', aiding the main enemy headquarters in the coordination of the enemy forces.

20 large enemy bases, all of which were located within the cities and which acted as supply depots.

34 smaller bases in both the cities and the towns.

A total of 1500 enemy personnel, 1200 of which are armed combatants, in all the bases except the main enemy 'headquarters'.

The armed combatants possessed a variety of weapons and were armed to different extents.

Some were only lightly armed with a handgun or a CAD.

Others were heavily armed with assault rifles, grenades and machine guns.

Many of the bases also acted as supply depots for ammunition and other supplies.

There were also no cameras around the bases, in order to prevent undesirable footage from getting into the wrong hands.

Hmm…

The Hokkaido region had been a particularly difficult region to suppress.

So far, the members of the Revolution had only managed to gain a limited foothold in the region as well.

If that is so,

Then…

1500 targets,

With each target consisting of the enemy personnel's body, clothing and weapons.

Raising my right hand into the air, I clenched it into a fist and said:

"Disappear."

A second later…

All of the 'targets' had disappeared.

Their bodies had faded into non-existence, along with their weapons and clothes.

In the subordinate enemy bases,

there was no blood.

There were no screams of panic.

Just complete and utter silence,

with no traces left behind.

Now that the subordinate bases were emptied of their users…

"Captain Kazama, I'm done with Phase 1 of the plan. Please loot the subordinate bases. I will deal with the main enemy headquarters."

* * *

Year 2095, January 10th, Osaka mansion of another Assistant House, Osaka City, Japan, 2:10 a.m.

(Maya's POV)

"Base 23, base 23! Respond!"

"It's no use! Base 45 is not responding!"

"Base 23 isn't responding either!"

"Emergency alert! Emergency alert! We have lost all contact with our outer defence personnel!"

"There is no response coming from those at the outer part of the mansion as well!"

These voices of panic resounded throughout the mansion as the members of this Assistant House wallowed in their fear and despair.

However, there would be no mercy for any of them tonight.

Suddenly, the world turned to night.

In the darkness of night, the only light came from the 'stars' that were shining above.

Suddenly, 'beams' of light passed through the doors and windows of the inner mansion.

A moment later, the structures of the windows and doors collapsed into pieces.

"Oh…why are all of you panicking?" I asked with a slightly sinister tone.

The House members in the inner part of the mansion froze, sweat trickling down their face as they slowly turned their haggard-looking faces to me.

Their clothes were ruffled and unkempt and their facial expressions were those of fear.

"There is no need for any of you to be fearful." I cooed out in a soothing voice before continuing.

"After all…

All of you are going to die soon."

An instant later, a large number of light 'beams' passed through every inch of the inner mansion, starting from the room that I was in to the other parts of the inner mansion as the room collapsed.

Consequently, the inner part of the mansion, and every 'object' in it, was destroyed.

Sigh…

What a messy way to end things.

I would have preferred just 'shooting' my 'beams' of light through the hearts and heads of these people.

However, unlike Tatsuya, I did not possess 'Elemental Sight'.

As such, the effects of my specialised magic was only limited to targets that I could physically see.

Furthermore, in order to be very accurate with my 'shooting', I had to take a very focused view of my target.

That was why I stood at the entrance of the room and took in an overall view of all the 'objects' in the room. Shortly afterwards, I 'vaguely' targeted every single 'object' in the room before progressing on to other 'objects' in the inner mansion as the room collapsed, thus eliminating the need for a very focused view of my targets.

"Ah…that was fun while it lasted." I let out as I turned towards Hayama-san.

My loyal butler merely took my cruel words in stride as he politely bowed towards me.

"Madam, the other bases of the Assistant House have been destroyed by Kuroba-san and the other combatants of the Yotsuba Clan." He said with a polite tone.

"Oh…so that means that there are only two Assistant Houses left." I mused.

"With all due respect, madam, that may not be true." Hayama-san stated with a respectful tone even as he objected to my musings.

"Oh? And why is that so, Hayama-san?" I asked with an intrigued tone.

"Well, madam. This is still not confirmed but it seems that Tatsuya-san has…"

* * *

Year 2095, January 10th, Hokkaido, Japan, 2:20 a.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

The countryside mansion of this Assistant House is not bad.

There were plenty of trees around and this provided good cover and camouflage for traps and hidden defences.

The mansion was three storeys tall and there were defences including snipers set up on the roof in order to take advantage of the height advantage.

The mansion itself was also walled off from the surrounding 'forest' and the gate was made of reinforced steel.

Not bad.

But it was also not good enough.

There is a total of 200 enemy personnel, 40 of which were non-combatants.

Among the 160 combatants, 80 of them were being used for the defences outside of the mansion while the remaining 80 combatants were holed up in the mansion.

All of the enemy combatants had dug into their positions and they were all heavily armed.

Even though they had just lost contact with all of their subordinate bases, they had still managed to remain calm and they were able to move quickly to reinforce their position.

However, all these efforts were ultimately futile.

Using my 'sight', I searched the information dimension for the information structure of a particular concept.

Having found it, I quickly used my natural decomposition magic to decompose that particular information structure.

With a few seconds, the entire mansion and the area surrounding it froze.

The bodies of all the enemy personnel became encased with ice along with their weapons as all of them died from the sudden and extremely severe loss of heat to their bodies.

That's right.

By decomposing the information structure of the concept of heat in this specific location, I temporarily eliminated the concept of heat in this area thus causing the immediate death of all the enemy personnel.

As I stopped using my decomposition magic, the temperature of the area slowly returned to normal as I made my way towards the mansion.

I then raised my right hand and temporarily eliminated the concept of heat (again) except this time, I did it at a much smaller area.

By freezing part of the air in front of me, a large 'blade of ice' formed before my very eyes, made up of frozen air particles.

Grabbing it by the hilt, I swung my 'blade' against the frozen front gates.

As a result, the weakened and frozen gate shattered into pieces and I slowly made my way into the mansion.

Reaching up to touch the communication device attached to my ear, my left hand pressed the button of the device which was meant to connect me to Captain Kazama.

"Captain Kazama, I'm done on this end. Phase 2 is complete. Please quickly send agents to loot this place as well."

* * *

Year 2095, January 10th, Osaka mansion of another Assistant House, Osaka City, Japan, 2:40 a.m.

(Maya's POV)

"Madam, we have just received confirmation that Tatsuya-san had completely annihilated the Assistant House that was in charge of the Hokkaido region." Hayama-san reported.

"…"

"I see. In that case, this means that there is only one Assistant House left. The fighting between the Ten Master Clans will soon intensify. Ho ho…I wonder…who will emerge out of this conflict as the victor? Will it be the Saegusa, the Ichijou, the Mitsuya, the Kudou, the Juumonji or the Yotsuba? Or will it be-"

* * *

Year 2095, January 10th, Saegusa Mansion in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, 2:41 a.m.

(Mayumi's POV)

"Shiba Tatsuya."

"Hmm? What is it, Onee-chan?" Izumi asked with a confused tone.

Smiling gently at her, I merely lightly patted her head before saying:

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about the 'angel' from the other day."

"What?! Why would you be thinking about that guy?! Sure…the members of the Nanase and Tanabata Houses were horrible, corrupt and incompetent! B-But that guy just murdered them! Since that is the case, why are you thinking about that sort of person?!" Kasumi yelled out with a slightly indignant tone of voice.

Frowning slightly at her, I gently reprimanded Kasumi.

"Like it or not, Kasumi, our fates are already tied to his. As father has pointed out, he is the only person who can help the Saegusa regain its former glory. Day by day, the old system is also slowly being eroded away. If the Saegusa is to survive the Revolution, we will have no choice but to depend on him."

"B-But! Onee-chan! He's the one who caused us to lose Tokyo!" Kasumi protested.

As I opened my mouth to rebut her statement, Izumi suddenly put a hand on Kasumi's shoulder and gently chided her.

"Kasumi…you know that that is not the truth. The reason why we lost Tokyo to the Revolution was because our allies and branch families were involved in criminal activity and father had allowed them to persist in their ways. If we had actually put a stop to their acts, we would never have lost Tokyo." Izumi said gently yet firmly.

"Ugh…" Kasumi let out.

Sigh…

It's only at times like this that Izumi acts so mature.

Though she generally acts more 'mature' (i.e. well behaved) than Kasumi, she never really showed her real maturity except on occasions when she had to help rein Kasumi in.

Hah…

My little sisters were so difficult to deal with…

"Onee-chan, what's wrong? For some reason, you look like you're very tired." Izumi asked as Kasumi also turned around to give me a questioning look.

"…It's nothing." I said with a forced smile.

"Anyway, back to our discussion. Tatsuya-kun is currently the most powerful person in Japan. He possesses enough magical power to destroy armies and nations, and enough financial and political clout to get away with almost anything. Luckily, he has considered our family to be worth sparing and we have already…surrendered to him so he is currently our master." I stated as a horrified look came upon Kasumi's face.

"Furthermore, Tatsuya-kun may be a horrifying killer but he is also a man of his word. Our father has just recently received a new posting, his first in three years, as one of the directors on the Tokyo government board of business regulation reform. This has helped the Saegusa to regain some of its lost influence in Tokyo, the national capital. Within a few years, we should be able to regain a strong foothold inside Tokyo and this is all thanks to Tatsuya-kun's help." I continued.

"S-Still, it doesn't sit well with me…he is the one who murdered so many people…" Kasumi muttered out.

At that, I merely let out a painful smile as I said:

"Kasumi-chan…your onee-chan here is also a murderer."

"N-No! Onee-chan is different! At that time, you had no choice! The Shippou and the other Assistant Houses were the ones who attacked us first!" Kasumi protested.

"…"

"Even so…the one who murdered so many members of the Shippou House was me…even though Tatsuya-kun had killed more people than I have, we are both still murderers. It's just that I fought to protect while he fought for change…" I said with a slightly pained yet resigned voice.

"Onee-chan…" came the teary voices of my younger twin sisters.

"Besides, Tatsuya-kun isn't so bad. He is smart, talented, rich, strong and powerful. He is also kind of handsome. If I got to know him a little better, who knows, I might actually fall for him." I said with a 'shy' yet joking tone.

While Izumi's face became bright red, Kasumi merely looked at the ground with her shaking fists at her sides.

"Onee-chan…" Kasumi said with a low voice.

"Eh…Kasumi-chan…what's wrong?" I queried with a slightly worried tone, having felt a bit of a dangerous vibe coming off from Kasumi.

"You say that but…haven't you already fallen for him?!" She yelled out.

"Eh?!" I let out in response.

With tears in her eyes and a visibly angry expression on her face, she pointed her finger towards me as she said:

"I have been noticing this for a while now but since you started talking about that…person…your cheeks have been bright red!"

"H-Huh?"

My cheeks were red?

I was blushing?!  
I quickly put my hands on my cheeks and indeed…they seemed to be a little too warm for my tastes.

"Besides! You kept on praising him as though he was some sort of special person." She stated out loudly.

"U-Um…Kasumi-chan. Technically, Tatsuya-kun is someone special-" I said in an attempt to defend myself.

"Not that kind of special and you know it, Onee-chan!" Kasumi yelled.

"K-Kasumi-chan! I do not have any feelings for Tatsuya-kun!" I said loudly.

"Though I will admit that he is quite a catch." I whispered to myself.

Unknown to me, Kasumi had heard what I said and this enraged her even more.

"I knew it! Onee-chan has fallen for that guy!" She shouted.

"W-Wait, Kasumi-chan! I didn't fall for Tatsuya-kun! Listen to my explanation!"

* * *

Year 2095, January 12th, Front entrance of First High, Japan, 8 a.m.

(Miyuki's POV)

As I waited in the car, the door next to me suddenly opened as Onii-sama's voice rang out.

"Miyuki, we're here." He said with a gentle tone.

"I'm coming, Onii-sama." I stated with a calm voice as I slowly made my way out of the car.

As Onii-sama instructed the driver to drive the car back to the Shiba family residence, I merely turned my gaze away to look at my new high school.

First High.

One of the top magic high schools in Japan.

If my brother and I were a normal pair of siblings, we would probably have entered this high school together as students.

However, my brother and I are not a normal pair of siblings.

While I was entering this school as a student and as the freshmen representative, my brother was entering this school as the chairman of the national board of education.

Suddenly, Onii-sama extended his right hand towards me.

"Onii-sama?" I asked, confused by his sudden gesture.

"Miyuki…I'm unable to enter this school with you as a student. As such, this is the best that I can do. I'm sorry you have such a useless older brother." He said with an apologetic tone.

"…You're wrong. Onii-sama is not useless. Something like this…is more than enough to make me happy." I said with a gentle voice as I held his right hand with my left.

A slightly embarrassed smile came upon his face as Onii-sama gazed deep into my eyes.

"Let's go, Miyuki."

"Yes, Onii-sama!"

* * *

Well, things are starting to heat up, huh?

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Opposition to Reform

Disclaimer: I do not own Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei or any of its vibrant characters.

* * *

Year 2095, January 12th, School Hall of First High, Japan, 9 a.m.

(Miyuki's POV)

"To all students of First High, both freshmen and seniors, the chairman of the national board of education shall now make his speech." Saegusa-san said with a polite tone.

At this announcement, a round of polite applause came from the crowd as my older brother stepped up onto the podium.

Faced with a large crowd of about two thousand students, my brother, who was even younger than some of them, showed no sign of nervousness.

Instead, he merely faced them with an impassive expression.

My older brother was average in height and looks.

Yet, he was far from ordinary.

Possessing enough magical power to destroy nations, he also had more than sufficient financial and political influence to get away with almost anything.

Wearing his trademark black jacket, which extended to his knees, he was also dressed in a buttoned-up black collar-shirt and long black pants.

Though his choice of clothing was unusual to say the least, it certainly added to the sense of mystery that surrounded my brother which, in turn, accentuated his subtly alluring looks.

Furthermore, the clothes he wore were actually for combat use.

The long black jacket and long black pants were actually bulletproof and they could also stop grenade fragments.

The black boots that he wore were combat boots that could be used to really hurt someone should my brother actually decide to engage in unarmed combat.

All in all, my brother was dressed as if he was going to go through another war (again).

Though given the current tensions in Japan, that may not be so far from the truth as the country looked as if it was on the brink of civil war.

Regardless, my older brother was still here to make a speech and all of the students would have to listen to him, whether they want to or not,

After all, they wouldn't want to offend the 'Angel of Non-existence'.

"Well then, I know that all of you are very eager to experience your new high school lives so I won't take too much of your time." Onii-sama said with a blunt tone.

"…"

"…"

"…"

At his surprising pronouncement, the entire audience went silent in slight shock.

"Currently, Japan uses the international rating system to gauge the abilities of its magicians. It is via this ranking system that the students could be 'properly evaluated' and thus sent to their 'proper' courses i.e. Course 1 and Course 2." He said, putting an emphasis on the words "properly evaluated' and "proper".

"However, the current rating system has many flaws. Let me give you an example. Currently, most magic high school students will end up joining the military or take up some defence-related job. This is unsurprising…given the importance that magic plays in modern national defence systems. Based on the prevailing line of thought, Course 1 students, being magically 'superior' to Course 2 students, should make for better soldiers and defence personnel. Yet, studies have shown that the difference in which course they take does not have much impact on the magicians' job performances. Instead, studies have found that some Course 2 students actually performed better than Course 1 students in defence and military-related jobs. This trend is also prevalent in other industries that utilize magic in one way or another. However, such trends contradict the current way of thinking." He stated with a critical tone, as if he was performing an analysis over the issue.

At his 'analysis', murmurs started to break out among the audience.

"So the question is…why are such trends occurring? The answer, students, is that the current rating system does not take into account the requirements of jobs that utilize magic in one way or another. Just because a Course 1 student has a faster invocation time than a Course 2 student doesn't necessarily mean that a Course 1 student would make a better soldier. Indeed, many former Course 2 students end up surpassing former Course 1 students in the military. This is because of the current discrimination against Course 2 students. As they are being discriminated against, this means that they have to work harder than former Course 1 students to rise up the ranks. As such, their combat skills such as their running speed or adaptability to different combat environments eventually surpass that of former Course 1 students. Now then, given these trends…what should we do?" He asked rhetorically.

The murmurs among the audience started to get even louder.

"This current deficiency in our magic education is also similar to the problems plaguing the public education system in Japan. Right now…our education system in Japan is not producing enough skilled workers. Certainly, our students can perform very well academically…however, given the ever-changing business environment, students find that they cannot get jobs as they simply don't have the skills to meet employers' requirements. Hence why structural unemployment is so persistent in today's society. All of these problems are due to the fact that our education systems are not taking the employers' requirements into account. Extensive bureaucracy, a lack of adaptability, resistance to change, even if it is for the better, and a lack of adequate reform plague businesses, governments and education in Japan today. This is why I have taken up the position of chairman of the national education board. To change this country for the better." He declared with a solemn tone.

"By the end of this year, a few major education reforms will be implemented. Firstly, each city in Japan will have a new committee made up of employers from businesses of all sizes. Every year, these committees will compile the employers' requirements into a list and submit it to the education boards of each city for review. These committees will also be consulted upon by each city's education board. Similar committees will be set up for each region in Japan and the national education board shall coordinate all the city education boards and the employer committees. This will ensure that we can take into account employers' requirements from the city level all the way to the national level as we overhaul the education system." He said with a confident voice.

"As the magic high school and university education systems will also be overhauled, the Course 1 and Course 2 systems will eventually be abolished by the end of this year. All of you students will be re-shuffled into courses that suit your stated job preferences and abilities, though obviously the latter holds greater weight than the former." He stated impassively.

To make such a controversial decision and announce it with such impassiveness…

I suppose this aspect of Onii-sama still hasn't changed.

Regardless, it appears that his last few statements had caused the Course 1 students among the audience to finally boil over.

"This is ridiculous! As if we Course 1 students would ever accept this!"

"Yeah! Course 1 students are superior! The results of those studies are false!"

"I'm sure those Course 2 students would be happy about such a change! After all, they will finally enjoy the privilege of having actual magic instructors! Hah!"

"Eh…I don't want to study with those replacements."

"Me neither."  
Unsurprisingly, many of the Course 2 students simply remained silent as they grit their teeth in frustration.

After all, based on the current rating system, they were considered to be 'inferior' to the Course 1 students.

However, a strong voice cut across the various outraged voices in the hall.

"Oh…but based on the current rating system, I would have been admitted to Course 2 as well. In that case, am I considered to be a replacement?" Onii-sama asked with a cold and aloof tone.

"…"

"…"

"…"

The entire hall went silent at his question.

After all, no one would dare call him, a 'Strategic-Class' magician, a replacement.

At least, not when he was right there with them.

"Even so, this does not mean that we Course 1 students will just silently sit back and accept this! Course 2 students can surpass Course 1 students in combat?! Hah! I would love to see the day that comes true!" An arrogant boy among the Course 1 students yelled.

This arrogant boy had short hair and a prideful look on his face.

If I am correct…

he should be Morisaki-kun.

"Oh? Then, shall we have a duel?" Onii-sama asked with an impassive tone.

"…"

"…"

"…"

Morisaki-kun froze.

The entire audience went silent.

"Come now. Based on the current rating system, I would have also entered First High as a Course 2 student. In that case, I should make an adequate 'replacement'…right, Morisaki-kun?" Onii-sama questioned with a slightly sinister tone.

Eh? How did Onii-sama know his name?

"U-Ugh…that's not it…Shiba-sensei…you're different from them! You're a 'Strategic-Class' magician! They aren't!" Morisaki-kun said in an ultimately futile attempt to defend himself.

"Oh? The Course 2 students and I aren't that different from each other. I too have faced discrimination from 'superior' magicians." Onii-sama said with a malevolent voice.

At the reminder of his horrible treatment at the hands of the Yotsuba, I winced.

The Yotsuba, which took a lot of pride in the magical abilities of its members, looked down on Onii-sama because of his failure to use 'real' magic as well as other members of the Yotsuba Clan.

"It would appear that the Course 2 students do not oppose my reforms. Instead, the Course 1 students are the ones opposing it due to their…disdain for the Course 2 students. Course 2 students can never beat Course 1 students in combat? The results of studies performed by well-respected academic institutions are false? It would appear that many of you, especially among the freshmen, have too much pride." Onii-sama said with a scornful tone.

"Come now…will no one duel with me?" Onii-sama queried.

"Fine. I will duel with you. Prepare yourself!" Morisaki-kun shouted as he brought up his CAD.

As if some signal had been given, several Course 1 students had raised their CADs at Onii-sama as well.

Standing up, I immediately brought up my own CAD to counter them but a slim hand suddenly appeared in front of my face, stopping me from carrying out my intended actions.

It was Lina-san.

"Lina-san! What are you doing?!" I shouted.

"Calm down, Miyuki-san. Tatsuya can handle this." Lina-san said with a calm voice.

Turning my attention back to the Onii-sama, I saw him raise a hand in the air.

An instant later, a sudden surge of psions filled the hall.

Shortly afterwards, several of the Course 1 students' magic sequences were suddenly cancelled.

* * *

Year 2095, January 12th, School Hall of First High, Japan, 9:20 a.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

As several of the Course 1 students brought up their own CADs, I raised my right hand into the air and silently whispered to myself.

"Gram demolition."

Immediately afterwards, I filled the entire hall with psions.

As the sudden surge of psions filled the entire hall, they easily tore apart the magic sequences of the aggressors and shouts of surprise could be heard.

After my work was done, I slowly put my right hand down as I let it hang loosely from my side.

* * *

Year 2095, January 12th, School Hall of First High, Japan, 9:25 a.m.

(Miyuki's POV)

"No way…"

"What the hell?! All of the magic sequences were destroyed!"

"Was that…"

"Gram demolition…"

"But for Gram demolition to be applied on such a large scale…"

"The psions filled the entire hall, didn't it?!"

"Yeah…it did."

As the initial shock and confusion faded away, fear slowly started to set in among the audience.

"Is that all? Come now…many of you will eventually join the military or take up some other defence-related job. If something like this is enough to faze you, you are not going to last long in a war." Onii-sama said with a mocking tone.

"Lina-san, what is Onii-sama trying to do by provoking them?" I queried.

In response, Lina-san merely frowned as she replied.

"Lowering their pride."

"I will go to the school field in an hour. For those of you who still plan to challenge me, meet me there." Onii-sama said as he walked away from the podium.

Yet again, the hall was filled with silence.

Turning to her again, I asked her one more question.

"Lina-san, is this really for the best?"

"..."

"I don't know, Miyuki-san. But I trust Tatsuya's judgement."

* * *

Year 2095, January 12th, School Field of First High, Japan, 10:25 a.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

"Oh…so there really were some daring enough to take up my offer." I said to myself as many students started to make their way into the fields.

All of them were Course 1 students and all of them had their CADs ready.

The rest of the student cohort made their way to the benches as they prepared to act as spectators to the upcoming 'match'.

"Shiba-kun, I really must oppose this match. You have already made your point back in the school hall. Continuing on with this match is not only meaningless but it may also lead to injuries." Mayumi-san said with a disapproving tone.

Oh…

How interesting…

A week ago, she was acting so frightened.

Now, she's confronting me over my decision.

What a strong person.

"This is necessary, Mayumi-san. In order to eliminate the discrimination prevalent in the magic education system, we need to lower the extreme pride that many of the Course 1 students here have." I replied.

"…Very well. I guess I can't persuade you. I give up." Mayumi-san said as she walked off to the side with disappointment etched across her facial features.

Right now, I was surrounded by ten groups of Course 1 students.

Each group consisted of eight to twenty members.

All of the groups were carefully watching me and each other.

It would appear that the groups had already synchronized their way of attack.

Not bad for a bunch of amateurs.

But-

"Begin!" The referee called out.

I immediately threw a flash grenade into the sky as I rolled onto the ground and closed my eyes.

A few seconds later, a blinding flash of light emerged.

An instant later, several of the Course 1 students' bodies collapsed onto the ground.

Shortly before the flash grenade activated, several of the students tried to use acceleration magic to throw projectiles towards me at top speed.

However, the blinding flash of light disrupted their eyesight and inserted an unexpected new variable into the situation.

As such, they failed to cancel their magic sequences halfway.

As a result, the projectiles continued along their paths, even if I had already rolled away on the ground, and had hit the other students instead.

I then quickly ran towards one of the groups and jumped high into the sky.

Upon landing onto the ground, I found myself in the middle of a student group.

As the students turned towards me with their CADs ready, I waited for a few seconds before throwing small metal ball bearings into the air.

Surprised by the sudden 'attack', the students' minds frantically tried to take the new variable into consideration as they formed up their magic sequence but it was too late.

The insertion of this unexpected new variable had thrown off their calculations and by trying to take this new variable into account at this late juncture, this caused their minds to form flawed or incomplete magic sequences.

The magic sequences soon broke apart as the students cried out in shock.

During this confusion, I let loose a series of punches at the back of their heads, knocking the group out in the process.

I then quickly moved to side as a few projectiles went right through the location that I was at only a few seconds ago.

Running towards the remaining student groups, I dodged several of their projectiles and let them fly towards the other students groups instead.

"Kyaa!"

"Ah!"

"Gah!"

"Hey! Where do you think you are shooting at?!"

"Hey! The same goes for you as well!"  
How pathetic.

They were already turning on each other.

A well-organized force would have had tried to force me into a corner before bombarding me with projectiles.

Yet, these groups of students tried to surround me and bombard me with projectiles instead.

Ridiculous.

Simply

As I managed to dodge their projectiles, those projectiles had hit their own team members instead.

It would appear that the leader of this 'force' is not a very good strategist.

Reaching one of the larger groups, I quickly threw small metal bearings at them to throw off their magic calculations before I ran off to the side.

As the students of this group desperately tried to salvage their magic sequences, they were immediately hit by several large projectiles thus knocking them out of the fight.

Sigh…

At this point in time, over half of the 'enemy force' was wiped out, with most of them being casualties of friendly fire.

I continued to weave my way through the flying projectiles as I watched the 'enemy force' get slowly eroded away by friendly fire.

Soon, Morisaki-kun's group was the last one left.

His group was the largest among the ten student groups that faced me.

Originally comprising of twenty people, his group now only had eight people left, including him.

I ran forward towards his group and ruthlessly slammed my knee against the solar plexus of one of his members.

Grabbing that member by the arm, I twisted it before flinging that member over to the rest of the group.

This disrupted the magic sequences of the group and as the body of that member hit two other members, I used both my fists to hit the right temple and left temple of the other two members at the same time.

The resulting force caused their two heads to violently hit against each other as I bent down and tackled all three of them to the ground with a leg sweep.

As I got up, I threw more small metal bearings at the remaining five members, disrupting their calculations in the process.

As their magic sequences shattered, I jumped above two of the remaining members before slamming my two feet backwards at the back of their heads.

The force applied was enough to knock them out as they fell onto their knees before collapsing onto the ground.

Grabbing one of the arms of the remaining members, I performed a judo throw and flipped him over, causing his body to hit the top of another member's head.

Morisaki-kun, the very last member of his group and the apparent leader of the 'enemy force', desperately raised his CAD at me in a last-ditch attempt to stop me.

However, I merely took out a coin and flipped it towards him.

As his eyes temporarily focused on the coin that was coming towards him, I jumped forward and kicked him at the solar plexus.

Morisaki-kun groaned out in pain as one of his knees fell to the ground.

I soon put him out of his misery as I used the back of my hand to hit the back of his head.

* * *

Year 2095, January 12th, School Field of First High, Japan, 11 a.m.

(Mayumi's POV)

Amazing.

Simply amazing.

Tatsuya-kun managed to take out over a hundred Course 1 students without even using his magic.

All he relied on was his physical prowess, his wit and his 'tricks'.

Suddenly, his voice ran out across the entire field.

"Stubborn. Terrible cooperation. Poor coordination. A failure to adapt. Poor physical abilities. Inadequate leadership and poor evaluation. Though these students were from Course 1 and comprised of both freshmen and seniors, these 'superior' students failed to beat me, a 'replacement'. Their physical abilities are sub-par, they failed to adapt to their enemy's way of fighting, they failed to effectively cooperate and coordinate with each other and they stubbornly refused to change their way of fighting. Finally, they left their leadership in the hands of an arrogant freshman despite the fact that there were seniors more experienced with the usage of magic. Such factors are the reasons why they lost to an opponent that they outnumbered by a large margin and whom did not even use any magic at all." He said with a scornful tone.

The entire crowd sat in silence as they listened attentively to his reprimand of the foolish students.

"Ultimately, magic is but a tool of combat. It is one of the requirements but it is not the only requirement. A magician who is good at magic but who cannot adapt to the situation will fail when a real war comes. Take note of that." He said with a stern voice before he walked away from the crowd.

Mentally sighing to myself, I quickly turned on the microphone as I began to handle the aftermath of the match.

* * *

Year 2095, January 12th, Course 1 Classroom of First High, Japan, 1 p.m.

(Miyuki's POV)

For the rest of the day, the mood among the Course 1 students was noticeably subdued.

Their sense of superiority broken, many of them fell into a confused or contemplative mood for the rest of the day.

Now that they witnessed a match which challenged their beliefs that their magic capabilities made them superior, some of them were slowly revising their own views while others just sat there in confusion or denial.

In contrast, the Course 2 students were filled with cautious hope as their future suddenly looked a little brighter.

If it was a Course 2 student that made the same remarks as Onii-sama had, the entire student body might have brushed it off as the ranting of a 'replacement' who was unsatisfied with his or her 'rightful' place.

If it was a Course 1 student that made the same remarks as Onii-sama had, the Course 1 students would have called him a traitor while the Course 2 students would have been quite surprised.

However, because it was Onii-sama who had made these remarks…because it was the 'Strategic-Class' magician, the 'Angel of Non-Existence' and the 'Angel of Light', who had made these remarks, the entire student body was in a strange mood.

Regardless, Onii-sama justified his remarks with his actions. By singlehandedly defeating over a hundred Course 1 students comprising of both seniors and freshmen without the use of magic, he proved the insufficiency of the current rating system for magicians and thus justified his criticisms.

The only thing that was evident now was that change was coming…for better or worse.

"Attention, class." A familiar voice rang out.

My eyes widened slightly in shock as Lina-san stood before the class, with Honoka-san and Shizuku-san by her side.

"My name is Angelina Kudou Shields, the USNA 'Strategic-Class' magician 'Sirius'. As part of a cultural exchange program between the USNA and Japan, I have come to First High to teach." She announced.

At her announcement, excited murmurs started to break out among the class.

Well, it wasn't that surprising.

After all, it's not every day that you get a 'Strategic-Class' magician as your teacher.

Regardless…

"I'll be your homeroom teacher for this year before all of you are reshuffled into your new course. Now then, you shall have two more classmates joining you today. Students, introduce yourself." Lina-san instructed.

Complying with her instructions, both Shizuku-san and Honoka-san stepped forward to introduce themselves.

"My name is Kitayama Shizuku. I hope to get along with all of you." Shizuku-san said with an impassive tone and emotionless face.

"A-Ah…my name in Shiba Honoka. Nice to meet all of you."Honoka-san said with a slightly awkward voice.

The entire class froze.

Shiba…Honoka?

My body rigid, I slowly narrowed my eyes in confusion as I pondered over Honoka-san's new surname.

Could it be that Onii-sama has-

"C-Could you be related to the chairman of the national board of education, Shiba Tatsuya?" A student asked nervously.

Distraught at the sudden change in mood of the class, Honoka-san tried to calm herself down as she absentmindedly touched her own hair.

"U-Um…Tatsuya-sensei was kind enough to adopt me into his family clan…" She let out nervously.

"…"

"…"

"…"

The entire class was silent for a while.

Then-

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The class was now in chaos and Lina-san would eventually take about half an hour to calm everybody down.

* * *

Year 2095, January 12th, Course 1 Classroom of First High, Japan, 1:40 p.m.

(Miyuki's POV)

Sigh…

The class had finally calmed down.

But still…

Glancing over at the three new additions to the class, I could not help but focus my attention on them.

Angelina Kudou Shields.

Kitayama Shizuku.

Shiba Honoka.

Angelina Kudou Shields is the USNA 'Strategic-Class' magician, 'Sirius', and she is also the fiancée of Taurus Silver a.k.a. Shiba Tatsuya, the 'Angel of Non-Existence' and the 'Angel of Light'.

Kitayama Shizuku is the heir to the wealthy Kitayama Conglomerate and she is also the fiancée of Shiba Tatsuya, Japan's 'Strategic-Class' magician.

Shiba Honoka officially is the adopted family member of Shiba Tatsuya and she is also his unofficial lover.

All the students present in this class and in this school knew these facts.

As such, they knew that all three of those girls were incredibly dangerous, even if they looked harmless.

And then there is me…

Shiba (Yotsuba) Miyuki.

The sister of Shiba Tatsuya and the freshmen representative.

Given the current line of thought, I was also considered to be dangerous (and admittedly I was) and thus I was to be treated with caution.

Sigh…

It seems that even in high school…I still couldn't escape such cautious treatment from others.

Though this was the first time my older brother played such a prominent role in causing the current situation.

"Okay! So let's start with some questions. Come on, you guys. Start asking. You can ask me anything you want." Lina-san said with a cheerful voice.

A few hands were raised up.

"Okay…you!" Lina-san said as she picked out one of the students.

A female student slowly stood up as she faced Lina-san.

"Kudou-sensei…how far have you gone with Shiba-sensei?" The female student asked.

"W-What?!" Lina-san shrieked.

Emboldened by the unexpectedly bold question from a female student of all people, several male and female students started calling out questions of their own.

"Kudou-sensei! What type of boyfriend is Shiba-sensei like?!"

"Kudou-sensei! Do you two plan on having any children?!"

"Kudou-sensei! How do you feel about sharing Shiba-sensei with Kitayama-san?!"  
At that last question, it was Shizuku-san rather than Lina-san who replied.

"Eh…I don't really mind. Tatsuya-kun is quite a good catch. It would be a waste to let him go over something like this."

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Oh my god…Kitayama-san is so bold!"

"A-Ah…Shiba-sensei sounds like he would make a good boyfriend…"

"Sounds nice…I wish I could date him too…"

"Eh…but you will have to deal with so many other girls…"

"I wouldn't mind that…"

"Huh?!"

As this ludicrous conversation continued on and on, Lina-san covered the ears of the furiously blushing Honoka-san.

"G-Gah! This is embarrassing! Stop! Stop! Stop! I forbid all questions of this nature! And Shizuku! Don't encourage them!" Lina-san yelled out with an embarrassed expression on her face.

* * *

Year 2095, January 12th, Shiba Residence, Japan, 9 p.m.

(Honoka's POV)

"Sorry for all the trouble I have caused you, Honoka-chan." Tatsuya-kun said with an apologetic expression on his face.

"It's alright, Tatsuya-kun. Sure it was…unusual to say the least but everything turned out fine in the end." I said as I turned back to face him with a smile.

Wrapping his arms around my waist, he rested his chin on my shoulder as I let my head rest on his.

"Do you regret your new surname?" Tatsuya-kun asked with a solemn voice.

"…"

"No, I don't. After all, in the eyes of society, this is the only legitimate way in which we could live together." I replied back with a truthful voice.

"…"

"Honoka-san." Tatsuya-kun said with a low voice.

"What is it, Tatsuya-kun?" I asked.

…

…

"I want you."

…

…

Tatsuya-kun suddenly gave me a gentle and tender kiss before he started deepening it. Our tongues started to wrestle with each other first in my mouth then in his mouth and vice versa as we explored the insides of each other's mouths.

Meanwhile, his hands had already started to unbutton my shirt and soon afterwards, my skirt fell to the ground as his hands started to touch my chest.

"Ah…"

Moaning slightly as he massaged my chest, I felt my body fall onto the bed as Tatsuya-kun wrapped my legs around him and entered me.

* * *

Year 2095, January 12th, Mibu Residence, Japan, 10 p.m.

(Mibu Sayaka's POV)

As I tossed and turned in my bed, unable to sleep, I couldn't help but think of today's incident.

Shiba Tatsuya.

The 'Strategic-Class' magician who possessed dual citizenship in both the USNA and in Japan.

The 'Angel of Non-Existence' and the 'Angel of Light'.

This morning, he singlehandedly defeated over a hundred 'superior' Course 1 students without even using magic.

Achieving such an overwhelming victory via relying only on his wit, physical prowess and 'tricks', he was the epitome of what all my comrades wanted to become.

With his actions today and his proposed reforms, maybe…

Just maybe…

He could change everything.

Opening my mouth, I asked a question that rang out in the darkness.

"Shiba Tatsuya, can I really put my hopes in you?"

* * *

Well then, Chapter 3 is done! Thanks for all the support!

Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Beautiful Kendo Girl

Disclaimer: I do not own Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei or any of its vibrant characters.

* * *

Year 2095, January 18th, Main Study Room of the Shiba Residence, Japan, 10 p.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

"Hmm…so the new asset purchases are complete, huh?" I asked myself rhetorically as I looked at my laptop screen.

The laptop screen was currently showing me a list of my assets and their current statuses.

In modern day Japan, the business culture was generally encumbered by a strong resistance to change, a lack of flexibility and an inability to adapt. Many Japanese companies also had an insufficient appetite for risk and the pace of innovation had slowed compared to the past.

However, in recent years, there appeared to be cause for hope as new start-ups and companies adopted new business approaches. Recently, many new or relatively young companies in Japan had created numerous innovative products which they sold to both local and foreign markets. These companies had, as a result, attained dominant and growing market shares in both local and foreign economies.

With dominant or growing market share, as well as falling business costs, these companies had thus managed to achieve high profit margins and stable profit growth. Yet, these firms only made up a small proportion of the total number of businesses in Japan. Many of them, despite having stable business models with a lot of potential, were not receiving as much attention from the stock market as they deserved.

On the other hand, some of the older firms with good business models and stable profit growth, were being overlooked by stock market speculators who were too focused on the next big stock. As such, the prices of these firms' stocks were being undervalued.

With the enormous money I had earned from my international asset portfolio, I had secretly bought over many of these relatively new and old firms before I had them delisted from the stock exchange. It was a good thing that I bought over most of these firms while Japan's stock market was still reeling over the political uncertainty in the USNA in December 2094. The low stock prices at the time enabled me to buy over more firms with the same amount of money.

However, because of the sheer number of firms that I had to buy over, I only managed to complete my new asset purchases today.

Regardless…

With these firms under my direct control, I now had a much stronger economic position in Japan.

That would, in turn, give me more political power.

After all, all politicians needed money. Politicians needed money to fund their election (or re-election) campaigns. They also needed the support of businesses and wealthy individuals to push through their own policies.

With my strong economic position in Japan, I could fulfil both roles. I had more than enough money to donate to politicians' campaigns and I also had more than enough (some might even call it excessive) influence among businesses and the rich to gather support for policies and reforms.

This is definitely something that the politicians in this country cannot ignore.

They will come to me for support and all I will have to do is to pick out the most reform-minded ones.

Well, I will shelve these thoughts for another day.

Now that my business for the day had ended earlier than expected, I wonder what I should do.

Perhaps I should spend some time with Shizuku-san.

A light tapping on the door quickly broke me out of my reverie as I turned my attention towards the door.

"Come in." I called out.

In response to my reply, the person on the other side of the door opened it.

"Tatsuya-kun, are you done with your work yet?" Shizuku-san queried with a slightly curious tone.

"Yes, I'm done, Shizuku-san." I answered.

"I see." She stated with an impassive tone before closing the door behind her and locking it.

"I heard that you talked to Honoka about her new surname. From the looks of things, I'm assuming she took it well (?)." She said.

"Yes, she did. Well…the ruckus it caused in your classroom was…an unexpectedly strong reaction…" I said with a slightly awkward tone.

A small smirk crossed Shizuku-san's face before it disappeared behind a mask of impassiveness.

"Well, there were a lot of things. Still…" Shizuku-san said as she slowly approached me. "Since you're done with your work for the day, I will thus claim you for the rest of the night."

"Oh? And how do you plan to do that, Shizuku-san?" I asked with a slightly playful tone.

Straddling my waist while I was still sitting on the chair, she leaned in closer to me as her lips neared mine.

After giving me a quick peck on the lips, she whispered into my ear:

…

…

"I'm going to make you mine, Tatsuya-kun."

…

…

What happened next was a blur.

One moment I was sitting on the chair while she sat on my lap, the next moment her back was on the study table as we ripped each other's clothes to shreds.

The only thing that the two of us can remember after that is me pounding into her for what seemed like hours.

* * *

Year 2095, January 19th, Course 1 Freshmen Classroom of First High, Japan, 9 a.m.

(Miyuki's POV)

"Eh…Shizuku-san is not feeling well?" I inquired with a worried voice.

"Ah…she said that she will be fine after a day's rest so you don't have to worry so much about it, Miyuki-san." Honoka-san replied with an awkward voice.

How odd…

Shizuku-san looked just fine the day before…

Furthermore, Honoka-san's way of answering was definitely unusual.

As Honoka-san was answering my question, her face was a crimson red and she kept trying to avoid my eyes for some weird reason.

Well…

It's fine for now, I guess.

"Oh right…Miyuki-san, congratulations on getting into the Student Council!" Honoka-san said with a sincere voice.

Ah…

That, huh?

"Yes, I'm grateful that the Student Council had taken in someone as inexperienced as me. I'll have to work hard." I replied with a polite tone.

"Still, I heard the Student Council and the Public Morals Committee will be busy with the upcoming Club Recruitment Week?" She asked.

"Ah…We should be fine, I guess (?)." I said with an uncertain voice.

* * *

Year 2095, January 19th, Student Council room of First High, Japan, 11:30 a.m.

"We're not fine at all!" Mari-sempai groaned out with a loud voice.

"Well…there's a lot of administrative work for our side to handle as well…sigh…I want a break…" Mayumi-sempai let out with an exhausted voice.

"Hey, Mayumi! At least the Student Council doesn't have to deal with inter-club disputes! All the Student Council has to deal with is administrative work! The Public Morals Committee has to deal with both!" Mari-sempai retorted.

"What are you talking about, Mari? For many years now, the Public Morals Committee had barely done any administrative work, even during Club Recruitment Week." Mayumi-sempai said with a slightly tired voice.

"Guh!" Mari-sempai let out in response to that (accurate) counter.

"Um…C-come on, everyone. Let's just focus on getting the work done." Azusa-sempai said with a nervous voice.

"Ah…but I really don't want to do any more work…even before Club Recruitment Week started, many inter-club disputes are already arising over the locations, timing and schedules of their individual presentations…sigh…so tiresome." Mari-sempai complained (whined).

"Well, at least the Student Council has a new member now. Miyuki-san's a fast learner and she is really helping us with the heavy workload." Mayumi-sempai said with a gracious tone.

"Ah…I'm still a beginner though. It'll take time before I'm able to more effectively help the Student Council." I said with a humble voice.

"There is no need to be so humble, Miyuki-san." Mayumi-sempai said with a slightly gentle smile.

Suddenly, we heard knocking sounds that were coming from the door.

Checking the monitor screen, Mayumi-sempai let a delighted smile cross her face as she happily opened the door.

"Everyone, Shiba-sensei has sent us some supplies." Mayumi-senpai cried out with a delighted tone.

True to her word, Honoka-san came in with a big basket of food.

Opening the basket cover, she revealed the luxurious contents of the food basket.

The food basket contained three medium-sized containers. One was filled with traditional sushi types, another was filled with pieces of fried chicken and the last one was holding some pieces of salmon.

There was also a large container holding rice and a small-sized container containing a brown sauce.

Finally, there was a medium-sized container containing fruits and vegetables.

"Good morning, everyone. Shiba-sensei told me to send this to all of you. The brown sauce is for the fried chicken. Please feel free to make up any combination of dishes for your meal today." Honoka-san said with a small smile.

"Oh! Food! Just in time for lunch!" Mari-sempai said happily as she immediately began to reach for the food.

That acted as the cue for everyone to start digging in.

After having tasted the fried chicken together with the brown sauce, I closed my eyes for a brief moment to savour the crunchy exterior of the chicken and the delicious taste of the soft interior, which was, in turn, enhanced by the nice brown sauce.

This taste…

I immediately ate a piece of the salmon to see if my conclusion was correct.

Ah…

Just like that time three years ago in Okinawa…

It really is…

"This is delicious, Honoka-san. Did you make this all by yourself?" Mayumi-sempai asked.

"N-No, Saegusa-sempai. All of this was made by Shiba-sensei." Honoka-san answered with a nervous voice.

The entire room fell into a deep silence.

"Seriously… he is a 'Strategic-Class' magician and the chairman of the national board of the education…and now he is a great cook. I don't even what to think about what's next…" Hattori-sempai said with a groan.

"Ha ha ha…"

I laughed nervously along with Honoka-san and, to my surprise, Mayumi-sempai.

"W-Well…he is a lot of things…" Mayumi-sempai said with a nervous laugh.

* * *

Year 2095, January 20th, Shikoku region, Japan, 11:30 p.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

The island of Shikoku.

The smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan.

In the northern area of Shikoku Island, where most of its major cities and inhabitants are located, there are moderately well-developed industries. These industries include the farming of crops like winter wheat, barley and rice as well as the processing of ores.

Like many other regions of Japan, this region is controlled by one of the 18 Assistant Houses.

To be more specific, this region is currently controlled by the last remaining Assistant House.

With its main headquarters located in the only major city in the southern region of Shikoku island, this Assistant House has many other smaller bases and only two support major bases in the cities and towns of the northern region, with only a few small bases in the southern region alongside its main headquarters.

Using its political connections and bribery, the Assistant House had used cheap, illegal and exploited labourers to work in its firms in labour-intensive industries like the farming and mining industries. Having them work for long hours and little pay, as well as under hazardous working conditions, this Assistant House also threatened workers who complained or tried to quit with violence.

In other words, this Assistant House was virtually using slave labour to reap high profits.

This Assistant House had only survived the internal fighting for so long because it was the least involved in such struggles. Having confined itself mainly to the island of Shikoku, this Assistant House did not make any further attempts to control more territory after its initial loss to the Yotsuba at the start of the war between the Ten Master Clans and the 18 Assistant Houses.

Though the internal fighting had initially hurt their businesses as their business relations with the other Houses deteriorated, this Assistant House was savvy enough to establish new business relations with traders and firms from the Great Asian Alliance.

Despite the world recession, the large economy of the Great Asian Alliance still managed to enjoy enviable growth rates and this led to rising world demand and thus rising world prices for commodity products like ore. As a result, the firms owned by this Assistant House began 'hiring' more and more slave labourers so as to meet the rising demand for their commodity products.

Consequently, the profits and thus wealth of the Assistant House had risen over the past few years, and with it came an increase in the severity of the secret situation of slavery in Shikoku island.

For now, this Assistant House was laying low and trying to avoid conflict with me and the other remaining Houses, especially after the other 17 Assistant Houses were so quickly destroyed.

However, this House was still a threat as its power, unlike the remaining Houses except for the Yotsuba, was still growing.

Furthermore, the suffering and corruption it had brought to the people and island of Shikoku could not be allowed to continue.

Hence, they had to be eliminated…tonight.

* * *

Year 2095, January 21st, Shikoku region, Japan, 12:30 a.m.

Main headquarters was located in the only major city of the southern part of Shikoku Island.

2 large support bases in two of the major cities in the north of Shikoku Island.

20 small bases distributed throughout the region with most of the small bases being in the northern part of Shikoku Island.

In all of the enemy bases aside from the main enemy headquarters, there was a total of 800 personnel, with 600 of them being combatants armed with CADs and firearms like hand guns and assault rifles.

Almost all of the bases were also located near the farms and mines where there were no cameras at all in the area, even if they were technically still inside the cities and towns.

Now then…

Focusing my 'sight' on the entire island,

I read and analysed the information structures of the bodies, weapons, clothes and other appliances of the enemy personnel as well as that of the event of the presence of 'light'.

Opening my mouth to speak, I uttered a few words.

"Let there be darkness."

All of the enemy bases except for the main enemy headquarters were suddenly filled with pitch black darkness, obscuring the sight of both victims and abusers.

"May they disappear."

In an instant, the bodies, clothes, weapons and appliances of the 800 enemy personnel faded into nothingness, as if they didn't even exist in the first place.

Now, all that was left to do was to deal with the main enemy headquarters.

* * *

Year 2095, January 21st, Mansion of the last Assistant House in the southern Shikoku region, Japan, 12:55 a.m.

(Maya's POV)  
The event of the presence of light had its own information structure in the information dimension.

Using his 'sight', Tatsuya had read and analysed the information structures of the bodies, weapons, clothes and other appliances of the enemy personnel as well as that of the event of the presence of 'light'.

Then, Tatsuya used his natural decomposition magic to decompose the information structure of the event of the presence of 'light' in the enemy bases hence causing total and complete darkness in these bases.

Therefore, the victims would not be able to see for a short period of time as Tatsuya decomposed the information structures of the bodies, weapons, clothes and other appliances of the enemy personnel thus causing these 'objects' to disappear into non-existence for all eternity.

Hence, this enabled Tatsuya to eliminate all of these enemy personnel without incurring the risk of witnesses.

Well, this was only what I could conclude from the reports that my agents had sent to me. The agents whom I had assigned to monitor and to eventually destroy the enemy bases had just reported to me that the enemy bases were suddenly submerged with darkness and the darkness had disappeared just as quickly.

However, by the time the darkness had faded away, all of the enemy personnel had already disappeared under very mysterious circumstances. The victims had all been left safe and unharmed.

Yet, given what I know of Tatsuya's abilities, I easily managed to piece things together.

A few minutes later, the agents had heard the sirens of police cars and they immediately reported back to me. I quickly gave out orders for them to withdraw and I had two of my Kuroba agents check out the area to see if there were any police cars approaching the mansion.

Apparently, there weren't any police cars approaching the mansion, unlike for the rest of the enemy bases.

How unusual.

"Madam." Hayama-san called out.

"What is it, Hayama-san?" I asked.

"Madam…he's coming." He replied with a serious tone.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…How interesting. Tonight is going to be quite fun, huh, Hayama-san?"

* * *

Year 2095, January 21st, Mansion of the last Assistant House in the southern Shikoku region, Japan, 1:05 a.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

The mansion of the last remaining Assistant House was in tatters.

The walls that surrounded the once luxurious residence had been destroyed along with the front gate.

The many buildings of the mansion had collapsed and there were many corpses that were found to be lying around the residence.

Blood soaked the ground and gardens of the residence and the stench of death permeated throughout the entire residence.

"So this was all your doing, huh, Maya Oba-sama?" I asked rhetorically.

A strikingly beautiful woman stood in front of me.

Wearing a beautiful black dress and a small purple jacket, this woman stared directly into my eyes without a single trace of fear on her face. Her figure was rather…generous and she had beautiful eyes and a sinister smile.

"Nice night out, isn't it, Tatsuya?" She asked with a playful tone.

"…"

"Yes…yes, it is, Maya Oba-sama. Unfortunately, it seems that you have had my prey taken care of." I replied with a formal tone.

"Oh, come on, Tatsuya. Just a little won't hurt, right? I mean…you had already finished off a few of the other Assistant Houses all by yourself. Allowing me to give the finishing blow to the last Assistant House shouldn't be too much to ask, right, Tatsuya?" She said with her usual cold and mocking tone.

"True…this doesn't violate our deal so this should be fine. However, the night is still young, isn't it, Maya Oba-sama?" I queried with a slight smirk on my face.

"Yes…then, let's have some fun, Tatsuya!" She shouted as a wave of darkness covered the entire residence.

Yet, it wasn't a total and complete darkness.

After all, there were bright stars shining over us.

Meteor Line was Aunt Maya's innate magic. Thus, directly interfering with it via interference strength would be difficult. Furthermore, Gram Demolition and Gram dispersal only destroyed the information structures of magic and activation sequences, thus while I could use it to destroy her magic and activation sequences, it would not be of much use in this situation since by the time I used it, Aunt Maya's rays of light, which are physical phenomena acting as a medium for her magic and thus would not have been by my two specialized anti-magic spells, would have taken effect.

As such, I immediately used my 'sight' to see Aunt Maya's magic sequence before analysing it to determine the coordinates in which the rays of light would travel through.

Analyzing the Eidos of the 'objects' at these locations, I identified and made a copy of the past states of the information structures of these 'objects' before the light had passed through them and caused structural alteration, and then I used these copies to rewrite the current states of the information structures of these objects such that it made it seem like the structural alteration of these 'objects' never happened.

This allowed me to directly interfere with her magic without the use of Gram Demolition, Gram Dispersal and my interference strength.

As the 'night' faded away, I quickly raised my right hand at her and used my 'sight'.

Reading and analysing the information structures of the many pathways that light can travel through, I used my natural decomposition magic to decompose the specific information structures of some of these pathways.

As a result, light could only travel through the few, specific remaining pathways and hence the light that passed through these pathways increased in intensity.

"Let there be light."

Light rapidly surrounded my body before the light suddenly expanded outwards in all direction.

As the 'explosion of light' expanded, it quickly enveloped the entire residence.

A few seconds later, the 'explosion' abated and there were no traces of the residence left.

All of the remnants of the residence had been destroyed by the sheer intensity of the light energy.

However, right in front of me lay a big hole in the ground.

It was almost as large as a crater and Maya Oba-sama stood in the middle of it.

"Quite impressive, Tatsuya. You've really improved. You're now much stronger than how you were three years ago." She praised.

"You certainly are quite tenacious, Maya Oba-sama. For you to have survived that by rapidly 'eroding' the ground under you via 'Meteor Line'." I praised back.

Indeed, by using specific point of the ground as the final coordinates which her 'rays of light' would pass through, this enabled her to destroy one layer of soil under her. She then repeated this course of actions over and over again with rapid speed, thus allowing her to be able to create a big enough hole in the ground to escape the 'explosion of light'.

"By the way, what happened to the buildings?" I inquired though I had pretty much figured out what had happened.

"Did you know, Tatsuya, that human beings have bodies that are so fragile? By using 'Meteor Line' to destroy the foundations of the buildings, I managed to collapse the buildings within seconds. The enemy personnel that were within the building died in the collapse, their bodies crushed into bloody pieces by the falling debris. The rest of the riffraff were easily dealt with when my 'rays of light' passed through their heads. Then, I just took my time as I slowly cut their pieces with my 'rays of light'." She said with a sinister laughing tone.

"…I see that your sick sense of humour hasn't changed at all, Maya Oba-sama." I muttered.

"Then…let's continue this, Tatsuya!" She yelled as she pointed her right hand towards me.

Yet, as her magic sequence was starting to be reconstructed, it suddenly broke apart.

"Hmph…so you decomposed my magic sequence, huh, Tatsuya?" She questioned rhetorically.

"Yes, I did, Maya Oba-sama. I won't let you have another chance to use 'Meteor Line'." I replied with an impassive tone.

Though I could make it so that her structural alteration never occurred, it was simply more efficient if I could destroy her magic sequence. Doing so via decomposition magic was still possible as her magic sequence still had an information structure within the information dimension. Thus, after using my 'sight' to identify, read and then analyse the specific information structure of her magic sequence, I immediately used decomposition magic to destroy her magic sequence.

"Still, your 'Meteor Line' appears to be more powerful than what it was three years ago, Maya Oba-sama." I observed.

Indeed, her 'Meteor Line' had really become more powerful as the number of 'stars' that appeared seemed to have increased thus allowing for more 'rays of light'. This, in turn, allowed her to deal more damage to a single target or to multiple targets over a wide area.

"Well, I had three years to train. I also had a lot of practice with the scum from the other Houses. Besides, my health and power could never have improved so quickly had it not been for your little 'intervention' three years ago in Okinawa. Tell me, did you improve my body so that I would be better able to protect Miyuki?" She said with a mocking tone.

"…"

"Ha ha ha! So it really was true! I knew it! So you still care for her, even to this day!" She laughed.

Using my 'sight', I could tell that there were many agents of the Yotsuba in the area. After I read the information structures of the ground particles beneath their feet as well as that of their weapons, I immediately decomposed these information structures.

The end result…

All of their weapons faded into nothingness as a large hole emerged beneath each of them thus causing them to fall into these large holes. As their bodies hit the ground, their head had also hit the surrounding 'walls' of hard soil or the hard ground beneath them. This resulted in each of them suffering a 'mild' form of head trauma thus causing them to faint.

"Oh? Why are you keeping quiet, Tatsuya? Did I hit a sore point?" She called out mockingly.

"…"

"…"

"…"

Then…

"Let's end this, Maya Oba-sama."

She immediately raised her right hand at me again and the world turned into 'night'. Within seconds, 'rays of light' shot out from the 'stars' that were shining above us and went right through my 'body'.

However, my 'body' did not collapse into bloody pieces. Instead, my 'body' faded away.

"What?!" She yelled out.

A moment later, the 'night' was shattered as her magic sequence was destroyed via my decomposition magic.

Appearing directly behind her with my finger pointed directly at her back, I said one word:

"Bang."

A small ray of light pierced right through her back and right lung before coming out from the front side of her body.

"Gurk!" She let out as her body fell forward.

As her body hit the ground, I bent down and put my hand at the back of her neck.

"You…to think that you could use illusion magic…but how?! Unless…" She panted out.

"Yes, it's exactly as you have surmised, Maya Oba-sama. By partially and completely decomposing specific pathways of different wavelengths of light, and thus redirecting the light through partially damaged or completely intact pathways, I managed to create an illusion of myself…your 'Meteor Line' can cut a person into pieces within the span of a few seconds but that is meaningless if you do not know where the person is, Maya Oba-sama." I said as I tightened my hold on the back of her neck.

Cringing slightly at the discomfort, she panted out:  
"Then just end this, Tatsuya."

"Wait! Tatsuya-san!"

A sudden voice cut across the deserted area.

With her bruised and battered body, a short girl bent down while panting. Her overly elaborate black dress was covered with dirt along with her face.

Coughing slightly into her hand, she slowly straightened her back as she looked right into my eyes.

"Tatsuya-san! Please! Don't kill Maya-sama!" She begged.

"…Ayako-chan. It's been some time since I last saw you." I replied.

Hmm…though she had bruises all over her body from her fall, her bruises on her arms were especially bad. Most likely, as she was falling down, she used her arms as a buffer to prevent her head from hitting the ground. Though it obviously failed, her effort had at least managed to reduce the impact on her head which was why she managed to wake up earlier than the others.

Using my 'sight', I also managed to deduce the fact that the other agents were also starting to wake up.

Too bad…

"Tatsuya-san! Please! Spare Maya-sama!" She begged again.

"So be it. Well then, have a good night, Maya Oba-sama." I said as I pressed on a pressure point at the back of her neck.

As she fell unconscious, I used my sight to read and analyse the information structures of her body and clothes. I then made a copy of one of the past states of the information structures before our battle had taken place, and then I used these copies to rewrite the current information structures.

Her body glowed for a short moment before the light faded away.

Once the light faded away, her body was left lying face down on the ground. Her body was left completely free of injuries and her clothes were no longer tattered or dirtied from our previous battle.

"Ayako-chan, the battle between us was just for leisure. Once she wakes up, tell Maya Oba-sama that the deal is still in effect." I said with an authoritative voice.

"Y-Yes, Tatsuya-san." She replied with a shaky voice.

As I got up and started walking towards her, her body began to tremble as she moved back by a few steps.

Once I reached her, I went down on one knee as I gave her a gentle smile.

Caught off guard by my gentle smile, she stopped moving backwards as I reached towards her with my right hand.

* * *

Year 2095, January 21st, the Deserted Area of the Former Mansion of the last Assistant House in the southern Shikoku region, Japan, 1:25 a.m.

(Ayako's POV)

As his right hand touched the side of my face, he caressed my face gently. Unable to control myself, I felt myself leaning to his touch as I stared into his eyes.

His beautiful, glowing silver eyes.

Eh?

Glowing, silver eyes?

"Tatsuya-san, your eyes are…" I called out but-

"It really has been a long time since I last saw you. I missed you, Ayako-chan."

His next comment cut off any words that I could say.

My face became red as I started stuttering.

"I-I m-missed you t-too, T-Tatsuya-san." I stuttered out.

In response, he continued to smile gently at me as he wrapped his left arm over my waist and he pulled me into a hug.

"T-Tatsuya-san…" I muttered out with my face still red.

Breaking the hug, he leaned away from me as he took out a handkerchief from one of the pockets of his long black jacket.

Cleaning my face with the handkerchief, he smiled at me as he said:  
"A girl should keep herself clean at all times, Ayako-chan."

At this gentle chiding, I felt my face get even hotter as I stuttered back:

"T-That is Tatsuya-san's fault."

Laughing gently, he continued cleaning my face with his handkerchief.

"Ha ha ha…well that is true as well, Ayako-chan. There. All done." He said as he moved the handkerchief away from my face before he started refolding it and putting it back into his pocket.

Then, he gave me one comment that literally stopped my heart.

"But you know…Ayako-chan, you have grown to become rather beautiful."

My heart stopped beating for a second.

A moment later, my heart started beating again at a much faster pace than before.

"Ayako-chan…"

He said as he wrapped his arms around me.

I found myself unable to resist as I felt my body go limp in his warm embrace. My hands reached out to wrap themselves around his neck as my face neared his.

I could feel a small blush on my face as our faces got closer and closer to each other.

Then…

He kissed me on the nose.

"Have a good night."

A second later, I fell unconscious in his embrace.

* * *

Year 2095, January 21st, Kuroba Residence, Japan, 10:30 a.m.

As I slowly opened my eyes, I felt the soft texture of the bed on my back. Groaning lightly, I sat myself upright as I blearily rubbed my eyes.

Eh…

When did I get back in my room?

Looking at the clock, I realized it was now 8 a.m..

In other words, nearly seven hours had passed since my confrontation with Tatsuya-san.

But how did I get here in the first place?

My clothes hadn't been changed but I was free of dirt and injuries.

Most likely, Tatsuya-san had 'healed' me.

Last night, he also…

Kissed me…

On my nose…

…

…

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"  
I squealed out happily.

"He kissed me! He kissed me! He kissed me! Tatsuya-san kissed me!"

Yes, he kissed me!

Though it was only on the nose, he still kissed me!

He also called me beautiful!

Though Tatsuya-san now has three lovers of his own, it doesn't matter to me!

I can just be his fourth lover!

"Kyaaa!"

I squealed out again.

"You're so loud, Ayako." Fumiya said as he entered my room.

"Oh, Fumiya. You're here." I said to him with a nonchalant voice.

"Geez…after all the trouble you put me through last night, you still greet me so nonchalantly in the morning." He sighed.

"Oh? And what trouble did I cause you?" I asked.

Fumiya started to puff out his cheeks and his face slowly became red with slight agitation.

"After Tatsuya-san brought you home at about five in the morning, he took care of you for about four hours before he left at around nine in the morning. Dad kept questioning me over the phone for over an hour!" He explained with a slightly frustrated tone.

"Eh? Tatsuya-san took care of me? How did dad take it?" I questioned with a curious expression.

"He kept spewing vulgarities at Tatsuya-san…calling him a 'failure' and a 'traitor'." Fumiya said with a slightly sad expression.

At this answer, I frowned in anger.

T-That man!

It was because of people like him in the Yotsuba that Tatsuya-san left in the first place!

What 'failure'!

Tatsuya-san is one of the strongest 'Strategic-Class' magicians in the world!

What 'traitor'!  
Tatsuya-san never swore loyalty to the Yotsuba!

He swore loyalty to Miyuki-san, who released (fired) him from his oath!

Tch…

Even till now, I still blamed Miyuki-san for releasing Tatsuya-san.

He was so devoted and loyal and she just fired him!

If she hadn't been so wilful and selfish, things would never have degenerated to this point!

Still, it would be a waste for me to be angry on this day.

After all…

"Tatsuya-san kissed me!"

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

* * *

Year 2095, January 22nd, Training Hall of First High, Japan, 10:30 a.m.

(Mibu Sayaka's POV)

As I smashed my wooden sword onto the helmet of my opponent, he gave out a cry before falling onto the ground.

"U-Ugh…you got me, Mibu-san." He groaned out as he touched his protective head gear.

I let a small smile cross my face at that as I offered him a hand.

"Well, it was a good match. Besides, the freshmen seemed to enjoy the match." I said as I used my hand to gesture towards the freshmen whom were watching the match from the side.

Looking at their excited faces, my sparring opponent and fellow club member smiled slightly.

"Ah…hopefully this match will attract more freshmen to join our club." He said.

"Yeah…I hope so." I replied.

As I was talking to my fellow club member, a boy with short spiky hair walked up to me.

"Hey, Mibu. Let's have a match." Kirihara-kun said with an arrogant tone.

Frowning slightly at him, I gave him my objection.

"Kirihara-kun, it's not your club's turn yet to use the hall." I pointed out.

"Come on, Mibu. I'm doing you a favour here. Don't you want to attract more freshmen to join your club?" He retorted.

"Kirihara-kun, I do not require your help to attract more club members. Please leave this hall immediately." I said with a firm voice.

"Oh? Then just take this as a challenge from me. Let's see who is stronger…me with my Kenjutsu or you with your Kendo." He said as he swung his shinai at me.

Rolling to the side, I managed to dodge the shinai just in time.

Taking my protective head gear off my head, I threw the helmet at Kirihara-kun as I stood up.

In response, he merely smacked the helmet away with the shinai.

Yet, the short period of time that he took to smack my helmet away was all the time that I need as I smashed my shinai against his upper right arm. As he dropped his shinai in pain, I raised my shinai and let it fall.

However, I stopped the shinai's descent just before it reached his lower neck.

"In a real fight, you would already be dead. This match is over, Kirihara-kun." I said with a serious and confident tone.

"…"

"…"

"…"

The hall was filled with silence as everyone just stared at us.

Then…

"Ha ha ha ha ha…Mibu, I would already be dead in a real fight?! Come then! Let me show you what a real fight is!" He snarled as he activated his CAD.

A screeching sound echoed throughout the entire room as Kirihara-kun swung his shinai down at me.

He had the same speed, but he wasn't using as much strength as before.

Regardless, I jumped back.

The attack didn't land a solid hit but it barely grazed me. Yet, my chestplate was cut open, just by getting grazed by a shinai.

The thing that increased its cutting power was a close combat Vibration Magic, "Sonic Blade".

"How's that Mibu?! This is a 'real' fight! Do you think that you can beat me now?!" He shouted.

"That's enough."

A voice called out.

Immediately afterwards, Kirihara-kun was assaulted by a wave of psions as his magic sequence was blown apart.

This was…

Gram Demolition.

Then, the person who stopped the fight was…

"This fight has seriously gone too far. I'll be conducting an investigation on this." Shiba-sensei said as he walked towards us.

Glancing towards Kirihara-kun, he said:

"Oh, it's you. You were one of the Course 1 students who lost to me during our match on enrolment day."

The entire hall was filled with a dreadful silence.

Then…

"First you trample over the pride of the Course 1 students and now you stop my match with Mibu…you! There should be a limit to your arrogance, you replacement!" He yelled as he activated his CAD again.

With his 'sonic blade', he did a sideways slash at Shiba-sensei but Shiba-sensei merely moved to the side to dodge the blow.

Kirihara-kun then brought his 'blade' up in an upwards slash but Shiba-sensei merely jumped backwards to dodge the blow.

Bringing his right foot forward, Kirihara-kun did a horizontal slash but Shiba-sensei simply bent down to escape the blow. While he was straightening his back, Shiba-sensei quickly moved forward with a few quick steps before he jumped upwards into the air.

While he was still in the air, Shiba-sensei thrust forward with his right foot, thus kicking away Kirihara-kun's 'blade'.

Swinging his right fist forward, Kirihara-kun tried to land a blow on Shiba-sensei but Shiba-sensei merely backhanded his upper right arm. Now that the fist's trajectory was diverted, Shiba-sensei punched the front of Kirihara-kun's right arm joint with his left fist.

Groaning in pain, Kirihara-kun bent forward slightly and Shiba-sensei took advantage of the temporary lapse in his opponent's attention.

Grabbing Kirihara-kun's right wrist with his left hand, Shiba-sensei twisted Kirihara-kun's right arm thus causing him to bend forward even more. Shiba-sensei then used his right fist to hit the back of Kirihara-kun's head thus causing Kirihara-kun to collapse onto his knees before his body hit the ground.

As the unconscious Kirihara-kun lay on the ground, Shiba-sensei merely gave a sigh.

"Ah…to be young and foolish." Shiba-sensei sighed out.

"…"

Shiba-sensei…

You do realize that you're even younger than Kirihara-kun, right?

Well…

I'll admit that Shiba-sensei is more mature than Kirihara-kun.

He was also stronger than Kirihara-kun.

Just thinking about him was starting to make me feel lightheaded.

Shaking my head to clear it of such thoughts, I walked towards Shiba-sensei with a grateful smile.

"Thank you very much for your assistance, Shiba-sensei." I said while bowing to him.

After staring at me for a moment, he finally replied to me with a:

"It's fine, it's fine. However, Mibu-san, I will have to question you on this incident at a later time."

"I understand." I replied with a dutiful tone.

"Then, I shall make my leave now while I escort Kirihara-san to the infirmary." He said as he walked towards Kirihara-kun's prone form.

As he walked away from me, I began to feel a slight sense of panic.

What are you doing, Sayaka?!

He's leaving already!

Now that you finally get the chance to make contact with him without arousing the suspicions of others, are you just going to let him leave?!  
Don't waste this chance!

My mind screamed at me.

"U-Um…Shiba-sensei…" I called out.

After pausing for a moment, Shiba-sensei then turned around to face me.

"Yes, what is it, Mibu-san?" He asked.

Straightening my back, I faced him with a confident look as I gave him the best smile that I could manage.

Not too big but not too small either.

I looked right into his beautiful silver eyes.

"Can I have a bit of your time later? I would like to talk to you about something." I said with a confident voice.

"…How about during lunch?" He queried.

"Yes, that will be fine with me, Shiba-sensei. Then, I will see you during lunch." I replied with a slightly happy voice.

"Then, I will see you later, Mibu-san." He stated as he turned his attention back to the unconscious Kirihara-kun.

* * *

Year 2095, January 22nd, Student Council Room of First High, Japan, 11:15 a.m.

(Lina's POV)

"U-Um...Kudou-sensei…why did you gather all of us in the Student Council Room?" Nakajou-san asked with a stuttering voice.

In response to her question, I simply gave her a short reply.

"Shiba-sensei's orders."

Frowning at my reply, Hattori-san simply asked for an elaboration of my previous answer.

"Kudou-sensei, if you may, could you please tell us the reason why Shiba-sensei gave you such an order?" He requested with a slightly frustrated tone.

Sighing at his request, I briefly pondered over whether or not I should grant it.

Eventually, I decided to grant it as it would only have been fair for them to know why they had all been summoned to the Student Council Room.

"As all of you should know, there has always been tension between the Course 1 and Course 2 students." I started as the members of the Student Council nodded in acknowledgement.

"As a result of the discrimination they faced, some of the Course 2 students had started gathering in secret to discuss plans to change the system. Evidently, they had met with little to no success…for now. Though most of the current Course 2 students would likely benefit from the reforms that Shiba-sensei plans to implement, there are some who are still dissatisfied with the expected rate of progress and some of those individuals are likely to take…radical actions." I explained.

"And…what does that have to do with us being summoned here?" Ichihara-san asked.

"Less than an hour ago…Shiba-sensei met a student that he suspects is involved with these radical groups. However, that wasn't the most worrying part of the matter. The most worrying part of the matter was that the student seemed to have been manipulated into participating in such dangerous activities…and there is a possibility that magic had been used to manipulate that student…" I said with a serious voice.

Gasping at the revelation, some of the Student Council members covered their mouths with their hands in shock.

"Since there is a chance that magic had been used to manipulate the student, we had to take precautions and ensure that, in the scenario whereby Shiba-sensei's hypothesis was correct, the Student Council members would at the very least be safe from such…manipulation…while Shiba-sensei investigates this matter." I stated.

"T-Then…what about the Public Morals Committee? I understand that Shiba-sensei cannot allow the student leaders of the school to be manipulated…b-but the Public Morals Committee is the body that enforces the rules and establishes order in the school." Nakajou-san stammered out.

What surprising insight.

I didn't expect this timid girl to have thought so far ahead.

I guess she wasn't in the Student Council for nothing.

"Don't worry about it. Shiba-sensei had Watannabe-san gather all of the members of the Public Morals Committee together in their own room. Right now, all of their members are in their own committee room and they have all already been accounted for. Both Chief Watannabe and President Mayumi have also already been informed of the current situation. Right now, President Mayumi is currently dealing with another task." I replied.

* * *

Year 2095, January 22nd, Cafeteria of First High, Japan, 12 p.m.

(Tatsuya's POV)

As I slowly walked into the cafeteria, the entire place went silent.

Ignoring the sudden silence, I continued making my way into the cafeteria as I looked around for Mibu Sayaka.

Then…

I noticed her.

Long black hair that was tied up into a ponytail and cheerful yet serious eyes.

A beautiful kendo girl stood at the right side of the cafeteria as she waited for me to arrive at my destination.

A few tables away from her, a girl with short orange hair glanced at us for a moment before she nonchalantly looked away.

So…

My agent was already here.

Momentarily looking at the far right side of the cafeteria, near the exit, I noticed Mayumi-san sitting at a table with both Honoka-san and Shizuku-san at her sides.

Good.

So everyone was already in position.

Then…

Let's start.

"Good afternoon, Mibu Sayaka-san."

* * *

Chapter 4 is done!

Please review!


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